


Smokescreen

by SofiaFrancesca



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/M, Marauders' Era
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-11-21
Updated: 2016-02-05
Packaged: 2018-05-02 17:00:15
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 34,246
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5256419
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SofiaFrancesca/pseuds/SofiaFrancesca
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Grabbing his wand from his bedside table, James lit his ceiling lamp. Light flooded the room and James took in the state of his best friend, who was now slumped against the wall beneath the window. Rivulets of rain were running down his face, his hair was plastered to his forehead and the muggle jeans that he had bought with the primary aim of pissing his parents off were dark with water and causing a large puddle to form on the floor.</p><p>The complete story of the Marauders from their sixth year.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue: The Graveyard Shift

Prologue

The Graveyard Shift

For the second time in as many weeks, Sampson had pulled the graveyard shift. In truth, it had been an accident this time, the unfortunate result of being too nice, too eager to please and too much of a Hufflepuff. It had been around lunchtime when his supervisor had asked whether anyone would be willing to swap shifts and like the naïve schoolboy he still was on the inside, Sampson had obediently raised his hand and sacrificed his Friday night.

He had soon come to regret the decision. The night shift was always long and tedious, consisting of little more than the occasional call out and recording any messages that the owls delivered in a big red book. Tonight was no different- save that Sampson was alone in the office. The two colleagues unlucky enough to be working alongside him tonight had been called out to a disturbance in Nottingham near half an hour ago now, and as the newest, yet unqualified member of the squad, Sampson had been left behind to hold down the fort. Shifting wearily in his chair, he wondered idly what the rest of the squad were up to. A good few were family men and would likely be in bed with their wives by now or desperately rocking babies back to sleep, but there had been talk among the rest earlier of after-work drinks at the Leaky Cauldron. Sighing, Sampson glanced at the clock, which now read half past two. There was only half an hour or so until closing time but he would have given anything to be with the rest of his colleagues having a few well deserved pints. After all, these occasions were getting rarer and rarer nowadays- the direct result of a body that had been found in Diagon Alley several months ago.

He was snapped out of his thoughts by the sudden arrival of a tawny owl on his desk. Cracking his knuckles out of habit, he reached down to untie the message that it carried. Breaking the blue wax seal which told him that the note had come from within Law Enforcement, he unrolled the parchment carefully and scanned its contents. He was pleased to note that it didn't contain anything out of the ordinary- merely a couple of reports from Intelligence and Information. The first made him smile. Apparently bewitched hot dogs were being sold to unsuspecting muggles in Birmingham. Stifling a yawn, he picked up a quill to scribble a note for Weasley in Misuse of Muggle Artefacts.

The second message gave him slightly more cause for concern. This one was a missing person report and Sampson scratched his head as he tried to remember the protocol he was supposed to follow. It wasn't often that they saw this sort of thing in the Magical Law Enforcement Squad. Of course, people were going missing left, right and centre nowadays but as they usually involved Death Eater activity, all of those were directed straight to the Auror Office- not to the nineteen year old trainee in the department next door.

Sampson read the report carefully. According to the little information that had been passed to him, a sixteen-year-old boy had disappeared from his family home late last night. It was only halfway through that there were any names and Sampson raised his eyebrow to see that it was somebody he knew- not well by any means- but someone whose name was at least familiar. The boy in question was several years below him at Hogwarts and had been a renowned trouble maker. Sampson recalled meeting him several times in passing when he'd been a prefect in sixth year. In fact, if he remembered correctly, he'd been the boy that he'd caught filching several bottles of dessert wine from Slughorn's private pantry. On several occasions. 

Quite honestly, Sampson couldn't find it in him to be too worried. A boy like that was always getting into trouble and Sampson rather suspected that he'd merely moved on from dessert wine to girls and was spending a few nights at a girlfriend's just to wind up his parents. All the same though, he traced the surname written on the parchment with a little relief. With a surname like that, it was unlikely to be anything unsavoury. In this day and age it was the muggle-borns that one had to watch out for.

Sampson was just filling out the details in the red book when he heard the door open behind him. Turning in his chair, he was pleased to see that his colleagues had evidently made it back from Nottingham in one piece. Ogden, one of the more senior members of the squad, was leading the way, looking just as tired as Sampson felt. He was followed by Barney Templeton, a boy who had joined the squad in the intake before Sampson. Both of them seemed a little on edge- something which surprised Sampson a little. Barney had been in Hufflepuff too and Sampson knew him well. He wasn't the sort to let things get to him and could usually be relied on to produce some kind of crude comment even in the most inappropriate situations.

"Sampson," Ogden greeted with a tired nod. He was getting too old for this and it showed.

"Yes sir?"

"I need you to alert the Aurors to that disturbance in Nottingham. It was initially reported as a break in but there was definite evidence of Death Eater activity. I've written it all out for you to take over to Scrimgeour. He's on duty tonight."

Sampson nodded and stood dutifully. His heart had sunk at the mention of Rufus Scrimgeour. The man was the deputy head of the Auror Office and he had a way of putting Sampson on edge. He knew better than to argue though. Someone had to go after all. The Auror Office was the one department in the Ministry which could not be contacted with owls: the information that they dealt with was far too sensitive.

Bob Ogden stopped him in the doorway though. "Any other incidents whilst we have been gone?" he asked.

Sampson nodded again. "Yes sir, although both minor. Something about bewitched food being sold in the Midlands which I've forwarded to Weasley, and a missing person rep-"

"What, another one?" Barney interrupted, concern etched upon his face.

"Yes but I don't think it's anything to worry about. Just a teenage boy who's gone for a wander and hasn't come back yet."

"Muggleborn?" Ogden asked immediately. His question didn't need to be explained.

"No sir," Sampson answered. "Pureblood."

"Good," Ogden smiled, the tension going out of his shoulders as he visibly relaxed. "Well keep an eye on it anyway." He seemed about to let Sampson go and then he spoke again. "Just out of interest, which family is it? Might be worth sending someone round if it's someone who, well, _donates_ regularly to the Ministry if you know what I mean. Always important to keep these families sweet."

Sampson sighed inwardly. As a half-blood, the incestuous nepotism of the Ministry had been rather alien to him at first. It was something that he took for granted now though. Sampson knew that he'd never been exceptionally bright and yet it didn't take a smarter man than him to see that the Ministry was corrupt to its very core. Money- usually pureblood money- kept the Ministry turning. There was very little that couldn't be achieved by a well-placed envelope in the proper pocket.

It was only when he looked up to see Ogden's patient face that Sampson realised he still hadn't answered the question. "Black, sir," he said quickly. "A man called Orion sent an owl."

Ogden raised an eyebrow at this. "Definitely worth sending someone round then," he muttered. "He and his wife donate to all sorts of things- this department included. Crouch will have my hide if I piss them off."

Sampson stifled a yawn. Appeasing rich pureblood men was not what he'd signed up for. "Of course sir," he said though. "I'll go myself. After I've delivered the report to Scrimgeour and I've got a few hours of sleep. Can't be waking such generous donors up in the middle of the night after all- even if their eldest son is missing."

 

* * *

 

 

It was just past 9 o'clock when Sampson arrived at the address they had on file for Orion and Walburga Black. If he was honest with himself he was more than a bit nervous about this home visit. The Black family had a reputation for being one of the oldest, and richest, pure-blood families in the wizarding world and one of the sacred twenty eight; a list of families deemed to be of the purest wizarding lineage. The list had been compiled in the 1930s, and since then many families had become extinct in the male line, or had 'tainted' their lineage by intermarrying with half-bloods, muggleborns, or -god forbid it- even muggles themselves. There were some families on the list, such as the Weasleys and the Macmillans who Sampson knew and liked, but the majority of them would not even associate with a half blood like him. A significant number of the families had a reputation for being sorted into Slytherin, and he'd moved in very different circles at Hogwarts. Working in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, however, he'd quickly become privy to some of the rumours that circulated around the upper echelons of pure-blood wizarding families and it was no secret now that a large number of them were suspected of Death Eater involvement or of harbouring he-who-must-not-be-named sympathies. Indeed, there were many in the wizarding world, even at the Ministry, who thought that there was some element of truth to what he-who-must-not-be-named was saying. 

Turning his attention back to the handsome town house in front of him, Sampson thought back to what he knew of the Black family. He knew that the boy who was missing had been in Gryffindor, and even he, a humble Hufflepuff, remembered the scandal. The sorting hat had sat on that boy's head for what had felt like an eternity before eventually declaring him a Gryffindor. Apparently being the first in the Black family not to be sorted into Slytherin was worth talking about, for a hushed whisper had rippled across the hall as he'd taken his seat at the Gryffindor table. For a fleeting moment even Professor McGonnagal had looked stunned, and that was a rare occurrence indeed.

The memory made him nervous and he momentarily held his breath as he knocked on the rather grand looking door of number twelve. He'd been warned by Scrimgeour that this residence had every possible defensive charm cast on it, and it showed. Scrimgeour had also snidely remarked that he better keep an eye out for dark objects, but Sampson meant to ignore that particular instruction. Ogden had assured him that Orion and Walburga Black were well respected in the wizarding community, and he hardly thought that scouring their house for dubious magical items would be conducive to the task at hand. It was likely too that Scrimgeour was just being paranoid and overly suspicious as usual, as was common with those rare aurors who managed to live past the ripe old age of thirty.

Many minutes passed before the door finally opened and Sampson stared as it swung open to reveal a rather ugly looking house elf eyeing him suspiciously with small beady eyes.

"What do you want?" it croaked.

"I'm here from the Department of Magical Law Enforcement Squad regarding a report of a missing person at approximately one twenty three am this morn-"

"About time too, Mistress is most distressed about the whole unfortunate situation," the house elf interrupted, opening the door wider as if to admit Sampson entry. "Not that he deserves it, mind you," he continued softly under his breath. "The young master has broken poor Mistress's heart, a disgrace to the noble house of Black."

Sampson stepped into the hall, and was immediately stuck by how grand the house was. The entrance hall was wide and spacious, and chandeliers glittered above him as he was ushered into through one of the many doors that adjoined the hall. Sampson didn't like to think how much they were worth; it was probably more than he'd earn in a lifetime. 

"May I present Mister…" The house elf turned suspiciously to Sampson.

"Sampson," he finished. "From the Magical Law Enforcement Squad."

This didn't seem to impress any of the occupants of the room. The lady, who he presumed to be Walburga Black, just looked at him disdainfully as if all this was rather beneath her. Her face conveyed traces of beauty, but despite her striking grey eyes and sleek black hair her expression was cold and hard. 

The man sitting next to her did rise in greeting, however, although his expression was no more welcoming.

"Please, take a seat," he said, gesturing to the chair opposite him and his wife. 

Sampson sat gratefully. "Thank you," he said, taking a blue notebook emblazoned with the Law Enforcement crest out of his bag. "Now onto the matter at hand, your son Sirius. When was the last time you saw him?"  

"Last night around midnight," Orion replied stiffly.

A full five seconds passed before Sampson decided that Orion wasn't going to elaborate. "And when did you discover he was missing?" he pressed.

"Around one in the morning, after we heard him walking down the stairs and realised he had taken his belongings with him."

"I see," Sampson replied, scribbling this all down in his notebook, "and was there any reason you know of that influenced his decision to leave home?"

Sampson regretted this question almost as soon as it had escaped his lips. Orion had shifted uncomfortably and Walburga was glaring at him as if he had said something grossly offensive. Both of their eyes were narrowed. 

An awkward silence descended on the room as Sampson stared avidly at his notebook, trying to avoid eye contact.

"He had an argument with mother last night." The voice had piped up from the corner, where a young boy sat lazily on a chair. Sampson hadn't even noticed him when he had first entered the room. The boy couldn't have been older than fourteen, and had an odd expression on his face that was halfway between disdain and boredom.

"Regulus," his father interjected. "If you could leave your mother and I to deal with this. I hardly think the conversation last night was relevant." He spoke quite pleasantly but Sampson was convinced of a rather menacing tone lurking beneath all the pleasantries.

The boy looked a bit startled and he quickly averted his gaze back to the copy of the Standard Book of Spells that he had been reading. Sampson got the distinct impression that this would be the last time he would speak out of turn and he turned his attention back to his parents, hoping that they could press on with the essentials.

"So, any idea of where he might have gone?" he asked, trying to keep the tone neural. 

"We imagine that he will have gone to one of his school friends. He is very friendly with a boy named Potter. I believe the family home is in the West Country somewhere." His tone was still pleasant but his wife continued to shoot Sampson dark looks.

Sampson shifted uneasily in his chair under her gaze. He wasn't sure what he had done to deserve this treatment, but it was overtly clear that she did not appreciate his presence in her home. He wondered fleetingly if there was any way they could feasibly know his blood status. Maybe she had just assumed, he supposed, the surname that he had inherited from his muggle-born father did not suggest a noble lineage after all.

"Thank you," Sampson replied, trying to hide his discomfort. "That's a good starting point. We will be sure to ask the Potters to inform us if they see him. Do you know if he has any money on him?"

"Not that I know of. We haven't been to Gringotts yet this summer and I believe he squandered all of his money from last year on Hogsmeade visits, buying worthless tat and things laden with sugar." He sounded rather disdainful; clearly properly pureblood boys weren't supposed to spend their money on such things. 

"Right," Sampson smiled tightly, "so probably not got enough money to travel to the West Country. Well not legally at least. We'll check with the Night Bus to see if they've seen him and investigate whether he might have stowed away on muggle transport. But otherwise it seems logical that he might have stayed in London."

Orion nodded silently.

"Well we will do our best to find him, and we'll be in touch as soon as we have any information on his whereabouts. If you hear anything from him yourselves, please do send an owl."

Neither Orion nor Walburga said anything to that, and rising from his chair, Sampson followed the house elf back out of the drawing room door that he'd been ushered in through earlier. The house elf closed it behind them rather sharply and Sampson was convinced that he could hear raised voices behind it. It was a clear sign that he should make his exit quickly, but as he turned to exit the house, the door flew open once more and the young boy followed him out, his face a little flustered.

Sampson did his best to ignore him, not wanting to get him in any more trouble than he evidently was in already. Trying also to close his ears to the now very heated discussion taking place in the room behind him, he continued making his way towards the front door, sidestepping a particularly ugly umbrella stand.

" _Wait_ ," a voice behind him said.

Sampson turned duly around to see the boy standing by the stairs, shifting his weight awkwardly from one foot to another.

"I think you should know that Sirius won't come back," he said quietly. "It's not worth trying to find him, and even if you did, my parents are arguing as to whether they will even let him back in the house." The boy inclined his head sharply towards the room that they had just exited. His face was expressionless, but Sampson thought for a fleeting moment that he could see a little sadness behind his grey eyes.

"Oh." Sampson nodded, trying to maintain his professionalism. "Well protocol states that we still have to attempt to find him. He's underage, you see."

"Well it's your time you're wasting." Shrugging, the boy turned, retreating up the stairs.

Sampson sighed, taking this as his cue to leave. As he stepped through the front door, however, his curiosity got the better of him. He didn't mean to say it out loud, but before he knew it the words had escaped his lips: "What did they argue about?" he asked.

The boy stopped his ascent and turned back round to look at Sampson. His dark grey eyes bored into him and after a long moment's hesitation he finally spoke.

"Mother wanted him to get married."

Sampson started at this revelation before remembering that arranged marriage was actually a fairly common occurrence in the old pureblood families, especially where staggering amounts of money and property were at stake. But still, the missing boy had only been sixteen, hardly old enough for that.

"Who to?" he asked. He was probably pushing his luck now, and the look on the boy's face said as much. The voices down the hall were getting louder and Sampson could have sworn that he heard something fragile shatter against the wall.

The boy again took a while to answer, surveying Sampson intently with a rather curious look on his face. It was with a cursory glance down the hall that he finally spoke. "Mother had someone in mind for him…" he said, trailing off and not quite meeting Sampson's eye. "It was a very eligible match for both parties."

"But he wasn't interested in this girl?" Sampson asked hesitantly.

The corners of the boy's mouth twitched slightly. "No," he said softly. "I don't think he was that keen." Turning his back, he disappeared up the stairs.


	2. Unanswered Questions

_ Unanswered Questions _

_ James _

James was flying, soaring high above the crowd as he gripped the quaffle to his chest. One more goal and England would win whether or not they caught the snitch. And he could be the chaser that scored it. He ducked a bludgers as the crowd roared in his ears. Bagman would sort that bludger out for sure; he could see him to his left clad in the same red and white that he was. He leant forward on his broom and whizzed past an opposing chaser. With the hoops fast approaching he extended his arm- this would be the shot that the Prophet would be writing about for years, the shot young boys would tell their children about twenty years down the line. The quaffle left his fingertips, destined for the middle hoop that now stood directly in front of him. The keeper had dived for it but there was no way he'd reach it in time.

Bang. The hoops in front of him seemed further away now. The crowd less loud in their roaring appreciation.

Lightning flashed at the window. James groaned, why now? He'd been in the middle of one of the best dreams he'd had for a while. Trust the weather to come and ruin the first night he hadn't dreamt about the disappearing and murders of the ongoing war. Ignoring it, he rolled over and buried his head under his pillow. It was raining like it usually was in Devon and he wasn't going to let any thunder and lightning interrupt his dreams of quidditch stardom. He began to drift off again, seeing Lily Evans as the crowd as he completed his lap of honour, the cup held high about his head.

The noise came again. This time, James was awake enough that to know it wasn't thunder, and sitting up in bed, he groped around on his bedside table for his glasses. His hand merely fell on his wand and he tightened his fingers around it.

"Lumos," he grumbled, illuminating his bedside table. His glasses were nowhere to be seen; all James could make out with his blurry vision was a half-eaten chocolate frog. Idly, he shoved it into his mouth, wincing when it tasted a little dusty and wondering where he'd misplaced his glasses.

He'd just stumbled drowsily to his feet when he heard the noise again, loud and sharp over the low rumble of thunder. It was clearly coming from outside his room, and rather baffled, James rummaged around for a shirt on his bedroom floor and pulled it on. Struggling with the latch, he yanked open the window.

He hadn't been wrong about the weather. The rain lashed his face and the wind tore at his shirt. He could feel his hair getting untidier by the second and he was struck by the sudden urge to flick his wand and summon his broomstick from downstairs. He loved nothing better than flying in a storm- to throw caution to the wind and enjoy the thrill of being just that little bit out of control. Maybe his dreams of quidditch had been a sign that he was long overdue a good excursion on his Nimbus 1975.

He was still contemplating going for a night-time flight around the countryside when a voice from down below reminded him why he'd opened the window in the first place.

"Oi," the voice said again, louder this time. "Prongs. Down here."

James frowned. "Sirius?" he whispered into the darkness. Excitement gripping him, he leant out over the windowsill just like his mother had warned him not to as a child, great raindrops running down his neck. Even leant halfway out of the window like that though, James couldn't see a thing. Without his glasses, he might as well have had his eyes shut. To be truly honest though, James didn't think that he'd have fared all that much better with his glasses. There was no moon tonight and Sirius and his dark hair would blend right into the inky surroundings.

There was shuffling down in the flowerbeds below before Sirius replied. "Yeah," he hissed. "Can I come up or not?"

James squinted a little harder- a wasted effort. "Sure," he said, opening the window wide enough for him to climb through. "What the fuck you doing here though?"

There was a long sigh from down below. "James," Sirius said lightly, and James winced; Sirius only used his proper name when he was irritated at him. "It's pissing it down out here. Can we have this conversation later?"

"Yeah sure," James grinned. "Come right up then. It's pretty easy if you use the trellis for footholds. Try and mind the roses th-"

It was too late. James heard the distinct sound of stems snapping and a few moments later, he was almost hit in the face by one of Sirius' feet.

Grabbing his glasses from his bedside table, James lit his ceiling lamp. Light flooded the room and James took in the state of his best friend, who was now slumped against the wall beneath the window. Rivulets of rain were running down his face, his hair was plastered to his forehead and the muggle jeans that he had bought with the primary aim of pissing his parents off were dark with water and causing a large puddle to form on the floor.

"Fuck, Padfoot," he laughed, "You're soaked to the skin."

"And you sound like your mother," Sirius muttered.

James grinned. "So what brings you to fine, fine Devon?"

"Argued with my parents. Let's leave it at that."

James could tell from the tone of his voice not to push him. He knew Sirius better than that. If it had been Peter sat in front of him, James knew he'd have got the full story out of him immediately. Even Remus, who was on the quiet side at the best of times, might have been persuaded to talk. Sirius, on the other hand, was another matter. He could be moody and surly, and if he didn't want to talk, he wouldn't.

James thus left him to it, and he'd just found his glasses in time to see Sirius pull off his sodden shirt. Often recently, James had found himself a little bit envious whenever Sirius stripped off in front of him- his best friend was both taller and broader than James could ever hope to be, despite the fact that he didn't even take Quidditch practice seriously. But right now all James noticed was that Sirius had clearly been fighting. Bruises the colour of deep violets were blooming across one shoulder and someone's fingers had left yellowing marks around his left wrist- as if they'd grabbed too hard.

Sirius saw him looking and scowled. He got to his feet and turned back to the window. "Forgot my stuff," he mumbled. Leaning out like James had done before, he reached into the back pocket of his jeans for his wand and levitated up a large trunk.

James raised an eyebrow. It looked like he'd brought a significant amount of belongings. The trunk was his large school one and even his broomstick had been tied to it. This clearly hadn't been any spur of the moment decision.

James met Sirius' eye. "Pretty serious argument then?" he asked lightly, knowing he had to tread carefully here. Even he wasn't completely immune to Sirius' tempers.

"Mmm," Sirius agreed. He kicked his trunk against the wall and it must have had a feather-light charm placed upon it, for it moved easily. "Anyway," he added. "Can we talk in the morning? I'm shattered."

James was beyond curious but he forced himself to nod. "Sure."

Taking his glasses back off and placing them on his bedside table where they would be easily found, he clambered back into bed, rather thankful that it was Sirius he'd be sharing his double bed with and not any of his other friends. Where Peter snored and Remus was a notorious fidgeter, Sirius was a heavy sleeper and tended to stay put silently until he was woken up.

Flicking his wand lazily, James put out the lamps as soon as Sirius was settled next to him. "You okay?" he yawned. It was rather nice having someone to chat to across the darkness and James was pleasantly reminded of being at Hogwarts- where it always seemed that he had three brothers instead of being an only child.

Tonight, however, Sirius was already asleep.

 

* * *

 

 

Sun was streaming through the window when James opened his eyes the next morning. With a jolt he remembered that he'd forgotten to close the window last night, and sure enough a large puddle of rain water had formed on the floor. He grabbed his wand off the bedside table, he needed to clear it up before his mum saw it. The house was old and neither of his parents would appreciate a large damp patch on the ceiling below no matter how good their magical repairs might be.

He waved his wand trying to recall the charm he needed. Charms had never been his favourite, he'd always been much more of a transfiguration fan himself. Nonetheless the water disappeared only leaving a slight mark. His parents surely wouldn't notice.

He got dressed and headed out the door. Glancing behind him he saw Sirius was still fast asleep, the covers pulled over his head. Judging from the journey he must have completed last night he thought he could probably do with a solid night sleep. Leaving him to it, he bounded down the stairs two at a time. He'd forgotten how dull it was home on his own. His best friend's arrival would surely change that. Things were always much more fun when Sirius was around.

His mother was in the kitchen, sitting at the table reading the Daily Prophet whilst also controlling half a dozen pots and pans on the stove. She flicked her wand and the heat turned up, the rashes of bacon she was cooking sizzling and spitting.

"Mum," he said over the hissing of the cooking bacon. "Sirius is here. Arrived late last night. Apparently he's argued with his parents."

"Again?" she sighed, putting the Prophet down.

"Mmm," James agreed. This was indeed not a rare event. "But I think it's serious this time."

"Do you want me to send an owl to his parents and ask if he can stay for the rest of the summer?"

"Dunno," James shrugged non-committedly. "Maybe ask him when he gets up."

"Yes that would be best wouldn't it," his mother replied, resuming her perusal of the Prophet. James caught a glimpse of the headline. Crouch, Head of Magical Law Enforcement was arguing the case for using unforgivable curses against Death Eaters in the Wizengamot. They were due to vote on it tomorrow afternoon and if it went through it would be the biggest change in the war strategy so far. James wasn't sure what he thought. He could certainly see the logic in knocking off a few Death Eaters who frankly deserved nothing less, but he knew it was flawed. He could practically hear Lily Evan's disapproval. He knew exactly what she would say, and she was probably right. She always was when it came to the moral high ground. She was not unlike Remus in that respect.

The day continued in a rather boring fashion. He'd had two helpings of breakfast, helped his father with his godforsaken vegetable patch and polished his broomstick to perfection and Sirius had still not gotten up yet. James had gone in and out of his bedroom all morning but every time he was met by a still sound asleep Sirius still wrapped up in the duvet.

It was almost dinner time and James was sitting in the living room with his parents, dozing on and off as Celestina Warbeck crooned on the wireless. He couldn't say he liked the style of music, but it was at least better than the news. Every hour he'd listened to the same report over and over again. He now knew with absolute confidence how every bloody single member of the Wizengamot was predicted to vote on the upcoming session on the unforgivable curses. The only semi interesting part had been an interview with Dumbledore, who predictably opposed the proposals as one would expect.

The door opened slightly, and James saw Sirius shuffling into the room, suppressing a yawn. Despite the hours he had slept he still had dark circles under his eyes, his hair was uncharacteristically untidy as if he hadn't brushed it for days and he was sporting what must have been several days' worth of stubble. James could see the look of concern on his mother's face, and wanting to avoid an awkward conversation he jumped to his feet.

"Padfoot, want to play a game of gobstones?" he asked, suggested the first thing that came into his head. He could still see his mother looking concerned out of the corner of his eye, but hopefully she knew better than to say anything. Any comments of his best friend's rather dishevelled appearance would certainly not be appreciated. Sirius must have known how he looked.

Sirius nodded silently, sinking into the seat next to where James had been sat. They sat in silence for what felt like hours as James set up the game of gobstones, fumbling as he tried to ignore his mother trying to catch his eye.

"So Sirius," his mother started. James groaned inwardly. Why did she have to say something? Couldn't she see that he didn't want to talk? He knew he saw her as the second son she never got round to having, but sometimes she just needed to take a step back. However he supposed he could say the same about him, it wasn't just Sirius who she was overbearing with. But that was the price you paid when you were the sole child of elderly parents.

"How has your summer been?" she continued, her tone light. Not that would fool Sirius though. He'd glanced up and was shifting uncomfortably in his seat.

"Fine."

His monosyllabic answer hadn't been what his mother had been after. She raised her eyebrows but to James' relief fell silent.

"Toss a knut to decide who goes first?"

"Sure."

"Dragon or goblin?"

"Goblin."

"Unlucky mate, it's dragon."

Sirius just shrugged and sunk even lower into his seat. James took his turn first and the game began. Neither of them were really in the mood for gobstones, that much was obvious. But it served its purpose as a distraction he supposed. Even if Sirius was playing so badly he'd contemplated letting him win a game deliberately. But Sirius hadn't seemed remotely bothered by losing four games in a row so he'd left him to it. Probably the safer option- Sirius was never one to appreciate anyone taking pity on him.

Midnight came and went and James supposed there was no point staying up much longer, not when his best friend was such poor company. James helped Sirius retrieve his trunk, they said their goodnights and Sirius trudged into the room he usually slept in when he stayed at the Potter's. James was sure Sirius would have cheered up by the morning. Whatever was weighing on his mind would surely have lifted once he'd had another good night's sleep. And in a bed by himself this time, that had to help.

 

* * *

 

 

"James!" his mother's voice rang up the stairs.

James rubbed his eyes and looked at his clock. Even without his glasses he could see that the time was just after 9am. Something had to be up for his mum to wake him up at this time on a Sunday morning, she knew him better than that.

"What?" he called back, hoping whatever she wanted didn't involve having to get out of bed.

"There is someone a the door asking for Sirius?"

"What's that got to do with me?" James hit back, but he had to admit he was curious. It couldn't be any of their mutual school friends- his mum would surely have recognised Peter or Remus if they turned up at the door. Maybe Peter had lost so much weight over the summer he was unrecognisable. He supposed that was a possibility. A remote one at least.

"Well you're his best friend- I feel you should wake him up."

"Why?" God his mum was such a coward sometimes. The worst Sirius would give her was a dirty look and a sarcastic comment.

"Well teenage boys need their privacy…." She trailed off.

James thought it highly unlikely that Sirius had chosen to sleep completely naked with no covers or was violently wanking at 9am on a Sunday morning but he supposed he didn't really want to argue those finer points with his mother. Pulling his dressing gown on, he traipsed down the hallway to Sirius' room wondering who this mystery guest could be.

He knocked loudly but no response came. That wasn't surprising, Sirius was one of the deepest sleepers known the wizarding kind. Sighing, he shunted open the door and walked in. As expected Sirius was fast asleep face down on the bed with the pillow over his head.

"SIRIUS!" James yelled at the pillow, hoping that would get the message across.

Sirius just groaned and tightened his grip on the pillow.

"Get up will you- someone is at the door for you."

"Who?"

"No fucking idea mate- I'll go and find out. But get up. Don't go pissing my mum off on day two."

"Never." Even muffled by the pillow James could hear the sarcasm.

"Yeah well behave."

"You know I love your mother."

"None of that either…" James sighed as he recalled several terrible related incidents to Sirius' last statement. Padfoot would flirt with anything, his mother included.

James made his way down the stairs, tightening the belt on his dressing gown. Whoever it was at the door he hoped they wouldn't mind him still being in his pyjamas and dressing gown.

"Finally," his mother scolded as he entered the living room. A man was sitting in the corner with a large red notebook in front of him. He couldn't have been much older than James himself and he had a weird sensation that he'd seen this man before.

"That's not Black," he commented as James took a seat opposite him.

"No, I'm James Potter," he replied, extending his hand.

The man took it and James suddenly realised where he knew him from. He'd been a beater for Hufflepuff at least two seasons ago. He surely must have left Hogwarts by now.

"Ah yes, I remember. Gryffindor chaser now captain I believe? I'm Sampson, from the Magical Law Enforcement Squad- Hufflepuff beater until my final year."

James smiled. It seemed he wasn't the only one who remembered people based on their quidditch positions.

"What do you want with Sirius?" James asked, going straight to the point.

Sampson hesitated, and shot a look at James' mother. He obviously hadn't spoken to her either for she leaned forward, evidently anxious to hear what a member of the Ministry was doing in her living room asking for her son's best friend.

"I'm here on behalf of his parents," Sampson answered slowly, his gaze switching from James to his mother as if trying to read their reactions.

"Why?" James asked, his tone short.

"It seems he didn't tell them where he was going," Sampson replied.

"Yes," his mother interrupted as James prepared to argue. "Well he's here now, so you can tell them he is safe and sound. Nothing to worry about."

"Yes, well his parents would actually like him back." Sampson said, straightening up as if preparing for a fight.

"Well he wants to stay here," James shot back, automatically tightening his grip on his wand.

"I think Mr Black should be the one to tell me that."

"Yes of course." His mother had appeared by his side and placed a restraining hand on his shoulder. "James go and get him, he should have been here by now-"

As if on cue, the door opened and Sirius appeared dressed in his muggle jeans and t-shirt. He shot a dark look at Sampson as if he knew what he was here for. Looking at the man in more detail, James thought he ought to have realised why he was here. He was dressed in the navy robes of the Magical Law Enforcement and a Ministry seal emblazoned the blue notebook he was holding.

"What do you want?" Sirius said, making no attempt to hide his contempt for the man that stood in front of him.

"Your parents reported you as missing and I was tasked with-"

"Finding me. Well now you've found me so well done and goodbye."

Sampson looked a bit taken aback at the unashamed rudeness but stood his ground. He was a big man, and no doubt he had faced more hardened men than Sirius in his time in the Squad.

"Yes, well your parents would like to see you."

"That's nice. I'll send them a postcard maybe."

"It's not optional," Sampson replied, his tone hardening. "You're underage and therefore still under your parent's authority."

Sirius stood up straighter and took a step towards Sampson, his expression murderous.

"I won't go," he said simply, his dark grey eyes not leaving Sampson.

"You don't have a choice."

The two didn't speak for a while, both staring the other down as if they were testing which one of them would break first. James heard his mother exhale anxiously behind him and had to admit even he felt a bit nervous. Sirius had a reckless temper and James knew first-hand how dangerous it could be.

"I appreciate that you've had a difficult time," Sampson finally said, his tactic changing. "Your brother actually did mention that your parents had wanted you to-"

"Can I speak to you in private?" Sirius said quickly, and James had to wonder what on earth Regulus had said to this man. Whatever it was, Sirius obviously didn't want it repeated.

Sampson however was eyeing Sirius carefully, and James suspected he thought Sirius might be trying to trying to get one up on him by tricking him into a false sense of security. But Sirius wasn't like that- if he was going to fight he'd fight him to his face.

"I suppose so…" Sampson trailed off, getting up slowly from his seat in the corner. "Please excuse us Mrs Potter, we'll take a short walk around the village."

James' mother nodded but didn't say anything. With that, the two of them disappeared out of the door and out of the house. They walked seemingly in silence past the window, heading in the direction of the church. James couldn't help but feeling rather disconnected. Sirius had been his best friend ever since that fateful meeting on the Hogwarts Express, yet here he was taking a stroll with a member of the Magical Law Enforcement in a deliberate attempt to hide something from him.

It seemed like hours before James heard the door slam and they both re-entered the room. Sirius didn't meet his eye but took a seat by the fireplace, his hands in his lap and a resigned expression on his face. Sampson had held back and was speaking in hushed whispers to his mother just outside the door. James leaned forwards, straining his ears to catch what they were saying.

"Thank you for your time Mrs Potter. I will close the case and Mr Black may stay with you," Sampson was saying in a hushed tone.

"And you're certain you're not allowed to discuss the specifics?"

"Afraid not, confidentiality ma'am. But please rest assured that I was satisfied that it's not in his best interests to return home. And after the effort of stowing away on a muggle train from London to Plymouth without getting caught I think he deserves to be left in peace. Seems he has a knack for being on the run."

"But shouldn't he be with his biological parents?"

"Exceptions can be made."

That seemed to satisfy his mother for she didn't reply. Sampson stepped back into the room.

"Thank you for your time Mr Black," he said, inclining his head towards Sirius. "And Mr Potter."

With that he swept out of the room, his navy Squad robes billowing behind him. Sirius hadn't even looked up when he'd come back into the room. He was slouched over in his seat, his hands fidgeting with his shirt and his eyes not leaving the floor. James sat next to him in silence; his best friend was just feet away, but to James it might of well have been light years.


	3. Reunion

_Reunion_

_ Lily_

 

Lily Evans scanned the crowds, trying to pick out at least one person she knew amongst the gathering on the platform. There were some Hufflepuff 6th years to her left; she knew them well enough but didn't particularly fancy the tedium that she'd have to endure if she stopped to engage in conversation. They were nice enough but were all dull as could be, and she wasn't in the mood to listen about their mundane and uneventful summers.

"Lily!" a voice called out from the crowd. She turned round to see Marlene McKinnon standing side by side with Emmeline Vance and Hestia Jones; all of her roommates save two. Alice Hall would undoubtedly be with her long term boyfriend Frank, but it was unusual for Mary McDonald to be missing from such a reunion.

"Where's Mary?"

"Oh, she hung back to flirt with Barnes' older brother," Marlene replied, flicking her long blonde hair over her shoulder. "He's actually quite cute. Much cuter than Tom is."

"Lovely," Lily said, not really interested. She'd heard it all before; it had been the same story every year since 3rd. Mary racked up series of failed romances, whilst Marlene racked up series of casual encounters in broom cupboards. Back in 3rd year it had been disastrous Hogsmeade dates and quick snogs respectively, however nowadays it was somewhat more mature than that. Mary had graduated to long term doomed romantic endeavours and Marlene, well Marlene just liked sleeping around with as many men as she fancied.

"Shall we get a compartment?" Lily asked, as the train conductor blew his whistle.

"Yeah, we'd better get a move on," Marlene said. "Mary will find us easily enough. After all Barnes Senior isn't joining us on this journey. He graduated at least two years ago if not three."

They all lugged their trunks onto the train which was now starting to gear up to leave, plumes of black smoke now streaming from the chimney. Fighting their way through the bustling corridor they managed to settle in a spacious compartment in the middle of the train.

Marlene flopped down into the seat nearest the window. "God I am so glad to be going back. Summers at home are so dull after the first few weeks."

"Mmm," Lily agreed, taking the seat opposite her. "At least you don't have any annoying muggle sisters who have absolutely no comprehension, nor any appreciation of your wizarding studies."

"I do have Tiffany," Marlene replied, referring to her sister in the year below. She wasn't a Gryffindor though. With a much sweeter disposition and a willingness to apply herself, she'd ended up in Ravenclaw.

"Oh how is she?" Hestia asked.

"She's good," Marlene said casually. "She's one of the 5th year prefect for Ravenclaw this year. Dad was over the moon considering how I turned out."

"Well good for her!" Lily said, trying not to draw attention to her own prefect badge that she'd pinned prominently on the lapel of her robes.

"It's just as well," continued Marlene. "I think Dad was concerned he was going to get two whores for daughters…."

The group laughed at this, Marlene included.

"Your sister couldn't be less like you if she tried," Hestia said, smiling broadly at Marlene.

"Yeah I know. I don't think she's even kissed a guy yet let alone fucked one."

"Being a virgin isn't such a crime," Lily said, very aware that she was probably the only one out of the group who the same could be said for. Although, having said that she wasn't so sure about Hestia. She'd had her dalliances with boys, but she couldn't actually recall a time when Hestia had actually gone all the way.

"No it's not," Hestia agreed, giving weight to this theory.

"Have you?" Marlene said bluntly, asking the question that admittedly everyone was thinking.

Hestia blushed, but answered none the less. "I kind of did with Robin Saunders last year. But it only lasted about 5 seconds so I'm not sure it counts!"

Marlene giggled and Lily felt her cheeks flush. That was more information than she'd really wanted to hear.

"I would have thought better of Saunders!" Marlene said in between laughing. "After all, quidditch types tend to be a safe bet with all the erm practice they get in."

"That is generally true," sighed Hestia, sweeping her long black fringe out of her eyes. "But sadly Robin Saunders didn't quite fit that trend. He was an anomaly if there ever was one. I suppose he was nice about it though."

"Well at least that's something," Marlene murmured, seemingly lost in thought. "I had one back in my 4th year, Alex Rodgers, you know, 7th year Ravenclaw now, who just completely blew it within the minute and then had the audacity to get up and start studying for his Transfiguration OWL."

"That's low," Lily said, whilst they all nodded in agreement.

Their light conversation was interrupted when the compartment door slid open to reveal Mary McDonald. She had one hand on the door handle and another wrapped around a boy's waist, who Lily quickly identified as Tom Barnes; the boy whose older brother she had been said to have been seducing on the platform.

"Bye Tom, see you around sometime," Mary said in a voice more sickly than the finest Honeydukes chocolate as she planted a kiss on Barnes' cheek. Having said her goodbyes, she backed in through the compartment door and took a seat opposite Emmeline.

"Hi girls," Mary said as if nothing had happened.

"I thought you were after his brother?" Marlene went straight into the deep end.

"Well so much for greetings," Mary muttered, but smiled nonetheless. "His brother is indeed cuter. But I need a route in. That's where Tom comes into play you see."

"That's cruel!" Hestia protested, as Lily nodded her head vigorously in agreement. "You can't toy with someone's feelings like that."

"He'll get over it," Mary shrugged, playing aimlessly with her non-descript brown hair. Mary wasn't particularly pretty; not in the way that Marlene and Emmeline were at least. But she was pleasant to look at all the same. She had mid length brown hair, a round face with soft features and a slim figure. All in all Lily thought her the epitome of the girl-next-door phenomenon.

"He's only after one thing," Mary continued, now plaiting her hair into some sort of intricate braid. "And I'll give him that."

"Well I suppose…." Marlene trailed off uncertainly. "But sex and emotions are hard to keep separate unless both parties are crystal clear of expectations from the beginning."

"You would know about that," Emmeline said, as Mary opened her mouth to protest. Lily thought this statement from Emmeline quite ironic given her own on and off relationship with bloody Black of all people. Setting expectations seemed to have been a vital step in their relationship that they had skipped over in their haste to undress one another. No-one ever knew where they stood and they'd all learnt it was better not to ask. It could be a sore spot with Emmeline. Not that Lily felt overly sorry for her, it was Black she had chosen to sleep with after all.

"Course I would, I'm practically an expert," Marlene said, ignoring Mary's continued attempts to try and defend herself.

"Well it's your choice Mary," Hestia pipped in. "But we won't be there to mop up the tears if it all goes down the pan."

"Fine fine…" Mary conceded as she secured a hairband around her French plait.

The conversation was again interrupted by the compartment door sliding open. However this time it was not a fellow roommate at the door. Lily looked up to see Sirius Black leaning casually against the glass, hands in his pockets and a grin on his face.

"Morning ladies," he said smoothly. "A word with Emmeline if I may?"

They all turned to look at Emmeline whose pink cheeks betrayed a hint of embarrassment.

"I did in fact ask a question," Sirius said, taking his hands out of his pockets and sitting down next to Lily.

"You're not welcome here," Lily hissed, shunting as far away as possible from him. She hoped her disgust was evident, she made no secret of her distaste for both Potter and Black and she wasn't planning to change that.

"Well it's a good job I wasn't planning to stay then," he replied, leaning back and placing his hands behind his head.

Emmeline must have thought it best to take this discussion outside for she grabbed Black's wrist and hauled him out of the room, much to Lily's relief. She had no desire to hear what Black wanted with Emmeline. Not that he needed to say, like Tom Barnes Black was only after one thing and this time would surely be no different.

"You don't think….?" Hestia asked, peering through the compartment window after them.

"Obviously, they've gone to fuck," Mary replied scathingly. Lily thought this a little harsh considering her own exploits. She didn't approve either but at least Emmeline and Black weren't hurting anyone but themselves. Mary left a trail of destruction wherever she went, and her ploy with Tom Barnes would be just the same.

"Will you be deducting points?" Marlene asked, a smile playing on her lips.

"Prefects can't deduct points," Lily sighed wearily, tired of having to repeatedly dispel this misconception. "And they're not technically hurting anyone I suppose."

"But what if a _first_ year sees. They'll be ruined for life," Mary asked in mock concern.

"I don't think either of them are erm, in to that sort of thing. I'm sure they'll keep it to themselves," Lily replied, not really overly keen to track them down and interfere, despite the numerous school rules they would be breaking. But she supposed they weren't technically at school yet, so maybe she could let that slide.

"A pity," Mary said slumping back into her seat with a bored look on her face.

"Anyway, I must be going to the prefects meeting," Lily said, looking at her watch. She was due at the meeting in less than five minutes and given the crowds of students congregating in the aisle, she was practically already late.

"See you later," Marlene and Hestia chimed as Mary just nodded at her.

Lily made her way down the corridor, fighting through the throngs of students who had gathered around the sweets trolley. Trying her best to ignore the tempting scent of the numerous pastries and chocolates on sale, she hurried on.

As she neared the front of the train she passed a suspiciously empty compartment. Slowing down ever so slightly, she risked a quick glance through the door and was surprised to see Sirius Black and Emmeline Vance sitting in it. At least they were only sitting in it she thought darkly, rather glad she hadn't accidentally walked past either of them in any state of undress. Although, on closer inspection Sirius' shirt looked like it was missing more than a few buttons, and Emmeline's tie was lying discarded on the table. However the scene also looked rather awkward; Black was staring stonily out of the window and Emmeline was looking anything but comfortable. They must have had an argument. Not that it was a bad thing Lily mused; breaking things off with Black could only be a good thing for Emmeline.

She quickly moved on, not wanting to be pry too much further into what was a private moment. Reaching the front carriage, she took a seat amongst the rest of the prefects who had already arrived. She'd been a prefect last year so she doubted there would be much that was new but it would be interesting to see who the new prefects were from the 5th years. As Marlene had mentioned earlier, her younger sister Tiffany was sat amongst the new Ravenclaw prefects. She looked somewhat nervous, glancing anxiously around the room as if she was looking for someone. Their eyes met for a brief moment before she averted her gaze, her cheeks tinged ever so slightly with pink.

"Morning Lily," a voice said, and Lily saw Remus Lupin sitting down next to her. He was the other 6th year Gryffindor prefect and despite being in with Potter and Black, Lily didn't mind him. In fact, if she was honest with herself she could even say she quite liked him. Remus was pleasant mannered and generally functioned as the sole source of reasoning in his group of friends, something for which Lily was thankful for, despite his limited success at reigning them in. However, she knew that it couldn't have been an easy job. She'd fancy her chances of breaking a wild mustang more than she would taming Potter and Black.

"Hello Remus," Lily replied. "Good journey so far?"

"Average. James has already made three first years cry and Sirius disappeared about half an hour in. I've spent most of the journey playing exploding snap with Peter."

"Why did Potter make the first years cry….?" Lily asked hesitantly.

"He told them that they'd be betrothed to a member of their house during the sorting," Remus replied, his tone betraying a slight hint of amusement. Lily had to admit she had been expecting worse, and even she could see the funny side of that.

"Well I can understand why that would be traumatic," Lily answered, thinking back to how she might have reacted as a first year to that idea. One of the first people she had met on the train, other than Severus of course, had been Potter himself. He'd started as he'd intended to go on and she'd hated him at first sight. She'd have done more than cry if she'd been naïve enough to believe what Potter had told those first years.

"Yes, quite," Remus smiled ruefully, evidently aware of what she had been thinking. "But it's unlike Sirius to disappear like this, any idea where he is?"

"Emmeline."

That was all she needed to say, and judging from the raised eyebrow Remus had understood.

"Ah I see."

They sat in silence for a few minutes as everyone took their seats. The meeting began and even Lily had to admit that it was dull. The Head Girl, Dorcas Meadows, meant well but god she was boring. Highly intelligent, Dorcas was a walking stereotype of Ravenclaw house, but unfortunately lacked any sort of charisma. Listening to her present on the duties of prefects was as boring as watching paint dry. Thankfully, her counterpart, a 7th year Hufflepuff called Scott Tatum, was marginally more engaging. Although he was no better at talking in public; he tripped over his words and seemed unable to string a sentence together the moment a female entered the room. Even Dorcas, who was not what you'd call an attractive female, seemed to have him stumbling and stuttering.

Lily watched them both struggle through the presentation. Was this really the best Dumbledore could find this year? Next year would surely be so much easier, Lily could think of loads of people who would be a million times better than the two who were currently standing at the front. Remus Lupin for one would be a decent head boy; he'd be much better than the bumbling Scott Tatum.

The rest of the meeting passed without much excitement. Rules were explained, rotas were handed out and eventually they were dismissed. She said her goodbyes and started to pack up her bag. She wanted to get back to the compartment, mostly because she was curious about whether Emmeline would have got back yet. Lily wasn't one for gossip, but she was anxious as to whether Emmeline was okay, and she'd be lying if she wasn't curious to hear what had transpired. Not that Emmeline would probably say anything, she generally kept a dignified silence when it came to Black.

"Lily," a soft voice said from behind her. Lily spun round to see Severus Snape standing in the doorway she had just walked through. He looked even thinner than usual, his face pale and sallow.

"Sev," was all she could say back. They hadn't spoken since they'd argued last year after he'd called her a 'mudblood'. She hadn't forgiven him and wasn't planning on doing so. She'd known for a long time what Severus had become, but that had marked the tipping point. She could no longer excuse his actions or his ideologies, no matter how good friends they had been. He was in the past now.

"I wanted to check you were okay…." He trailed off, his dark eyes intense.

"I'm fine thanks," Lily replied coolly. "I should go, my _friends_ will be wondering where I am."

Lily picked up her pace, hurrying down the corridor away from Severus. She hadn't stayed to see what he'd said in reply, nor had she looked back to see if he was following. Hopefully he had got the message. She rather wanted to avoid a lengthy encounter with Severus on a crowded train.

A hand gripped her wrist and she lost her balance, falling to the floor. Looking up she saw Severus standing over her, his brow furrowed and his thin lips pursed. She felt his grip tighten on her wrist and she was hoisted up to her feet. She backed up against the wall, and his beady eyes followed her, surveying her closely up and down.

"I can save you Lily," he said quietly, his voice barely above a whisper.

Lily didn't understand. Save her from what? He was delusional, and she needed to get out of here.

"I said I could save you," he repeated, his eyes not leaving hers.

"Save me from what?" Lily asked, her voice equally quiet.

"Him."

Lily knew now what he meant. He was referring to Voldemort. Lily didn't want to think about what that meant, despite her arguments with Severus she refused to believe he could go down that path. He just _couldn't_. She looked up at him but his eyes betrayed nothing. There was no emotion behind his eyes. They were empty.

"You're one of _them_?" Lily managed to say.

"Yes."

They stood there in silence, his black eyes boring into her. She didn't know what to say. What could she say? Severus was now a Death Eater and the final chapter of their relationship was complete. Even if she'd managed to forgive him for the mudblood comment there was no going back now. Not now she knew what he was. What path he had chosen.

"We can't be friends anymore, Sev," Lily said, feeling tears well up in her eyes.

Severus just stared at her, motionless. Eventually, he took a step backwards and turning on his heel he strode out of the carriage, his robes billowing behind him. Lily was glad to see him go, she couldn't hold it together much longer. Fighting back tears, she slowly made her way down the train. She had no intention of catching Severus up. She passed the compartment where just half an hour before she'd seen Emmeline and Black, but Emmeline was nowhere to be seen now. Black however was still there, sitting in the exact same spot he had been when she'd seen him earlier. He seemed completely oblivious to his surroundings, still staring out of the window into the distance, his head resting against the glass. Lily had to wonder what had been said. Black had no trace of the cockiness that usually emanated out of his every cell, in fact Lily had to feel rather sorry for him. Although maybe the encounter with Severus had left her feeling overly sentimental, he'd probably deserved whatever was making him sit alone in an empty compartment.

Lily finally found herself at the door to her compartment. Steeling herself for the onslaught of questions, she dabbed her eyes and opened the door.

"What's wrong?" Mary immediately asked and Lily saw both Hestia and Marlene shoot her exasperated looks. Lily deliberated for a moment, maybe it was best to tell them. After all, the situation with Severus wasn't going to change.

"Sev," Lily felt her voice shaking on the lone syllable.

"What happened?" It was Mary again who had spoken, and Lily thought her tone more eager than concerned.

"He just…." Lily started, but was unable to finish. Her voice cracked and trailed off as she slumped into her seat, putting her head in her hands. She'd tell them later, when Mary wasn't here.

"I don't think she wants to talk about it," Hestia murmured, with a deliberate glance at Mary.

Lily felt the tears running freely down her cheeks now. She took a deep breath, she'd have to hold it together better than this. Raising her head up from her hands, she looked up at the girls in front of her. Mary was still gazing at her with keen interest but Marlene's and Hestia's expressions were kind, despite their disapproval of her friendship with Severus. Emmeline also looked concerned, but Lily could tell she had her own issues to think about. Her eyes were ever so slightly bloodshot and she had a distant look about her. Obviously whatever had upset Black was also weighing on her mind.

Thankfully for Lily, the subject had now turned to Emmeline, who was also facing an interrogation from Mary. Lily sighed, Mary just did not understand people sometimes. But of course, she expected you to be there to wait on her day and night when her 6 week relationship with her 234th boyfriend had unravelled.

"So are the rumours about him running away from home true then?" Mary asked.

Emmeline seemed to pause at this.

"He…. He didn't want to speak about it," Emmeline eventually said.

Mary didn't push her but Lily could tell that she didn't buy it. She knew what Mary thought and to be fair to her she was probably right. Sirius never bothered to confide anything important in Emmeline. That privilege was probably reserved for Potter and Potter only. Not that it made it any easier for Emmeline. Lily sighed, she had no idea why Emmeline put up with him using her like he did. She certainly wouldn't let a man sleep with her without even offering an ounce of emotion in return.

However that didn't stop her feeling sorry for Emmeline. The others must have agreed for Hestia put an unprompted arm round her and even Mary didn't say anything further on the subject.

Between Emmeline's unresolved issues with Sirius and her own unresolved issues with Severus, Lily thought they'd had better train journeys during their time at Hogwarts. But they were getting older, and life was more complicated than she ever thought it could be. Even not considering the mysterious disappearing's that were happening across the country, or the increasingly radicalised Ministry of Magic; life at Hogwarts was changing. Relationships were more serious, friendships more strained, and fear permeated every crevice of everyday life. You feared for your family, for your friends, and most importantly you feared for the future. Lily rested her head against the window, closing her eyes as endless wheat fields retreated into the distance.

 

* * *

 

 

Lily sat in the Great Hall, gazing upwards at the beautiful starry sky above her. Tonight it was completely clear with not a cloud in sight. No matter how many times she'd sat in this hall, the sky never ceased the amaze her every time she came back. She would forever remember her first entrance into this hall after being escorted across the lake by Hagrid. She looked around, but most of her fellow classmates seemed more preoccupied with gossip and the immanent food. She smiled; maybe it was because she was muggle-born but she'd never tire of the wonder of magic.

She glanced over at the Slytherin table; Severus was sat at the far end with Rosier, Nott and Mulciber. No doubt they had also signed up with him; all of those families were well known for their fondness of the dark arts. And it surely wouldn't be a coincidence that they were all sat as far away from Dumbledore and the other teachers as possible.

A sharp clap interrupted her thoughts and Lily looked up at the high table to see Dumbledore had stood up. He was looking rather regal in his signature purple robes, this time lined with navy blue fur. The Great Hall rippled to a silence and he began to speak.

"Welcome to Hogwarts! Before we welcome our new first years, I am pleased to tell you that we will also be welcoming two new teachers to our ranks this year."

"The first is Professor Spencer-Harding, who will be taking the post of Defence Against the Dark Arts this academic year. He is joining us from his full time job at the University of Cambridge where he conducts research on the history of Latin incantations. Unfortunately he couldn't be here tonight, but you will all meet him next week for your classes."

This was news to Lily, she hadn't known that any of the muggle institutions delved into magical research matters. Although she supposed it shouldn't surprise her as she'd always wondered where wizards went to study anything that was more advanced than NEWT level. There must have been a separate branch to get round the statute of secrecy. Making a mental note to ask Professor Spencer-Harding when she met him, she turned back to Dumbledore.

Next he gestured to a woman sat at the far end of the table. "This is Professor Sinistra, and she will be replacing Professor Clanger as our new Astronomy Mistress."

The first thing Lily noticed was that the boys sat up a little taller. She could see why. Even sitting down, it was clear that Professor Sinistra was tall and willowy. She had skin the colour of caramel and could only have been a few years older than the seventh year. She looked like no Hogwarts Professor Lily had ever seen- especially when sat next to Professor Sprout who even when one was being kind could only be described as dumpy.

All across the hall, Lily saw girlfriends tightening their grip on their boyfriends' arms. Over on the Ravenclaw table, Miriam Cox had looped her arm through Ben Davies', while Pascale Delacey was shifting closer to an attractive seventh year who Lily only knew by sight.

Closer to home, Emmeline was glancing sadly at Sirius Black. Like the rest of his sex, he had leant forward to better peer at the new offerings. Perfectly still, he looked like a predator who had just spotted his next meal. Lily was unsurprised. It was well known that Black went for anything in a skirt. Like most boys their age, self-control seemed to be an alien concept to him.

And looking across the table, Lily saw that Peter Pettigrew was no better. His weakness, however, was food rather than women. They only had the sorting to go now before the tables would be laden with more food than they could eat but Lily could see him already stuffing his face with sweets from the Hogwarts Express trolley. He had it heaped in his lap and every now and then he'd sneak a piece into his mouth.

Lily was sorely tempted to take points off him but she wasn't actually sure he was breaking any rules. And besides, she didn't especially want to be the prefect who took points off her own house. Not before term had even officially started at least.

Instead she just sighed and turned to watch the first years filing in. As usual, they looked terrified as they were called up one by one to the stool to have the sorting hat placed on their head.

The first one had just sat down on the stool when Lily heard whispering from further down the table. Reluctantly, she turned her head to see who the culprits were. She was left unsurprised and had to bite down on her lip to stop herself snapping at them.

"Seven…?" Black was saying. Lily couldn't even see his face properly and she knew that he was smirking.

"Nah eight," Potter whispered back. "Look at the legs on her." It was then that Lily realized what they were talking about and she had to swallow down her anger.

"They're not that long," Black retorted lazily. "It's just the angle."

Furious, Lily looked up at the front. The first year currently walking up to the stool was a little taller than her peers. She glanced sideways at Alice. She looked about as enthusiastic about this as Lily felt and her usually smiley face was contorted into something bordering on pissed off.

Potter seemed to concede Black's assessment about the girl's legs and he shut up until the next student was called. "This one's got to be an eight," he said. "Absolutely gorgeous."

Black was shrugging. "Cute I guess. High maintenance though. You can just tell."

Seething, Lily glanced up to see what poor girl was being objectified now. She had to blink. It was a boy- a boy with a pudding bowl haircut no less.

"Huh?" Frowning, she leant over. "What in God's name are you doing?" She saw that Potter had something on his lap. "Let me look."

Potter turned, a grin already on his face. "Ah Evans… so that's why you wouldn't go out with me..." He tossed her a magazine behind Alice's back. "Eat your heart out then. Lots of girl on girl action in there."

Lily dropped it as if it were poisonous. "What the hell are you doing with a magazine like that?" she hissed.

Black smirked at her. "Extra reading," he said. "For Muggle Studies." Leaning down to pick up the offending magazine, he dusted it off lovingly and opened it to the centre page to reveal a blonde girl lying on a beach. "Look," he said, pointing. "She doesn't even move. Her hand will be between her legs forever."

Lily rolled her eyes. "What you do in the privacy of your dormitory is your own business. But you should be watching the sorting. It's incredibly rude and McGonagall's already looked over here twice."

Potter shrugged, his eyes twinkling. "Sure. If you'd rather we direct our attention to the sorting, then sure thing, prefect." He turned to Black. "So that one could grow up to be an eight right?"

Black wrinkled his nose. "Not unless she shrinks that nose of hers." He snorted with laughter. "And that next one is just unfortunate." He gestured to a plump little girl with frizzy red hair and glasses who was looking hopefully at the Hufflepuff table where no doubt an older sibling sat.

"I dunno," Peter interjected doubtfully with a glance at the girl. "James has always had a thing for redheads."

Black and Potter laughed heartily at that but Lily screwed her face up, torn between wanting to snap at them for objectifying young girls and wanting to point out that she had always been prettier than that.

"Anyway, none of them are half as cute as that new Astronomy teacher," Fabian Prewett interjected. "I wouldn't mind orbiting her star if you know what I mean."

Potter snorted. "That was the best you could do?" he hissed. "You could at least managed to have worked Uranus in there."

Lily had had enough. Closing her ears to it all, she did her best to focus on the stool at the front of the hall. She imagined that the first years being sorted were more mature than this lot. The last first year to be sorted was a sad, almost ill looking boy. In many ways he reminded her of how Severus had been back then: outcast and misunderstood.

Lily watched as the hat sat on his head, clearly deliberating over which house was to become his home for the next seven years.

"Slytherin!"

Lily sighed. Hopefully this boy would be destined for a different path than his fellow house-mates. But as he took a seat between Avery and Nott, it seemed that the odds were very much stacked against him.

* * *

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: I hope you enjoyed the first chapter from Lily's POV. It's one of my longer chapters but one of my favourite to write. Next chapter will be from Sirius' perspective and will be called 'Unwanted Sympathy'. Thank you to all the follows, favs and reviews so far- as always, any feedback is more than appreciated!
> 
> Sofia


	4. Misguided Sympathy

_Misguided Sympathy_

_Sirius_

* * *

 

All of the Marauders were sitting on their respective beds, the contents of their trunks emptied all over the floor as they made a lacklustre attempt to unpack. Quite simply, none of them could really be bothered. Unpacking could wait and Sirius was bored.

"I'm bored," Sirius stated simply.

"Yeah….." James said as he lay back on his four poster bed. "Feast was pretty uneventful right?"

"Should have stirred it up a bit," Sirius muttered as he tossed the only set of dress robes he'd bothered to bring from his parents under his bed. Thankfully, he wasn't anticipating much use for formal attire. Not now he was the disinherited first son of a noble pure-blood family. He couldn't say he minded though, dull family occasions had never been on top of his to-do list.

"It was rather mundane wasn't it?" Remus added, looking equally glum.

They all turned to look at Peter who was yet to contribute to the conversation. However it seemed the excess that was the welcome feast had got the better of Peter. He'd collapsed in a food coma on his bed, a half-eaten muffin still clenched in his fat fist and his eyes half closed. Sirius couldn't help but laugh. There was no wonder Peter had not had as much as a chaste kiss under the mistletoe with a member of the female sex. Not that he really felt much sympathy for him. It was due to his own greed and complete lack of self-control that Peter was like he was. He hadn't been force-fed like poor Emmeline Pancake of the Muggle Suffragette movement had been. He was proud to have remembered that very obscure fact from Muggle Studies, although it did probably help that this female shared a first name with one of the girls he was sleeping with.

"What are you thinking about?" James asked, his face suddenly just inches from Sirius'.

"Girls I want to fuck," Sirius replied, figuring it wasn't actually that far off from the truth.

"Pray tell?" James said curiously as Peter yawned loudly.

"Oh, I was thinking maybe McDonald?" Sirius said, inserting the first name that came into his head. Quite frankly he had no interest whatsoever in fucking Mary McDonald. Within one hour of sleeping with her, the whole school would know every intimate detail as surely as if she'd paid the Prophet to run it on the front page.

"McDonald?" James asked, throwing Sirius a weird look. "You sure about that mate?"

"She's with Tom Barnes now anyway," Remus said from over the top of his copy of Quidditch through the Ages.

"How come I don't know that?" James demanded, turning to face Remus.

"God relax Prongs, she's only been going out with him….." Remus paused to look at his watch. "A grand total of eight hours."

"God, I hate romances that start on the train. They're so cliché," James sighed as he flopped backwards onto his bed. "How do you know about this new development then? Got a close female confidante we don't know about?"

"Afraid not, Evans just told me during the prefect meeting."

"Oh," was all that James could say, a wistful expression gracing his face at the mention of the God forsaken Lily Evans. Quite frankly Sirius still couldn't see what all the fuss was about. He would have given up long ago. No girl was worth that level of stress and anguish. Especially one that wasn't sleeping with you. Or one that didn't even like you.

"Do you think we made her jealous at the feast?"

"Jealous of what?"

"The girls in that muggle magazine?"

Sirius shot a look at Remus who was looking equally amused.

"Well," Remus started diplomatically. "I think she certainly took notice but probably not for the reasons you would want her to."

"In other words mate she still hates you," Sirius added upon seeing the puzzled expression on James' face. "I'm not sure porn has that effect on women Prongs. Especially girls like Evans."

"What do you mean? Girls like Evans?" James demanded.

Remus sighed. "All he meant was that she's a nice girl She's unlikely to want to be plastered all over the centrefold of Playboy in bunny ears with a distinct shortage of clothing."

"Right" James answered vaguely, evidently preoccupied with the image Remus had foolishly just put into his head. Although Sirius couldn't say it was a bad image. Whilst he didn't share his best friend's adoration of the red head you couldn't deny she was a great looking girl. It was just the personality that was a problem.

"So what's the deal with you and Emmeline," James asked, seemingly having gotten over his Evans induced euphoria. Whilst Sirius was glad to have moved away from the topic of Evans he wasn't sure this subject was all that much better.

"Not sure."

"Well you haven't slept with her yet. Is that not on the agenda this year?" Remus said, cutting a picture of Puddlemere United out of his book.

Sirius didn't answer, instead rolling onto his back to look at the ceiling with a small smirk on his face.

"Wait, you have?" Remus asked, looking from James to Sirius and back again. "When did I miss that?!"

"Whilst you were getting cosy with Evans during the prefects' meeting," Sirius said lightly, ignoring the indignant look on James' face.

"Right," said Remus. "Right…."

"What?"

"So are you going out with her?" James asked, prodding his arm.

"Nah, it's less serious than all that."

"Does she know about this?" Remus asked, ever the upholder of female rights.

"We talked about it," Sirius said, deciding to omit the rather unpleasant argument they'd had over it. Yawning, he rolled over onto his front and propped himself up on his elbows.

Remus didn't say anything, but Sirius could tell he wasn't convinced. Not that he cared all that much. Remus was one of his best friends, but they did disagree on a great many number of things. Thankfully they'd agreed to disagree on this point a long time ago, but that still didn't stop Remus from letting his opinion be known from time to time. Not that he needed to say much, Remus did a good enough job of that with his face alone. In fact silence was generally the best indicator that Remus really didn't agree with you.

"So are you ever going to tell us why you left home?" Remus asked, changing the subject.

"Parents. Nothing more to say than that," Sirius replied, already bored of the number of times he had been asked this exact question this term. However given the fact term only officially began a few hours ago, this looked like a trend that was set to continue. Closing his eyes, he considered the different ways he could avoid having to elaborate on this point. He could take inspiration from Peter and pretend to be asleep, or he could try and change the subject. The upcoming full moon was always a popular choice. With James at least.

But on closer examination of the expressions on James' and Remus' faces, he thought it unlikely he would get away with either of those options. The safest option, and the only realistic one he had left was to get out of here. He only needed to think of an excuse.

"I might go and check the notice board out," Sirius said, getting to his feet.

"Sure, let me know what it says," Remus replied, his eyes not leaving his book.

James wasn't so easily pacified. He'd been trying to get more out of Sirius all summer, and knew exactly what he was playing at. But he let it slide with only a raise of his eyebrow.

Making a quick exit, Sirius strolled out the door, pausing for a moment to see if they were going to say anything about his sudden departure. Pressing his ear against the door he could hear faint talking.

"Has he not said anything more to you?" he could hear Remus saying.

"Nope, barely one word," James' voice replied. "But we shouldn't talk about this now. He'll be mad if he overhears us talking about him."

Well they'd got that much right. Not that it was stopping them right now.

"True," Remus sighed. "I'm sure in time he'll tell us exactly what happened."

"The thing is I'm not sure he will…." James trailed off, obviously still cautious of the prospect of being overheard. "Anyway, later Moony".

Thinking that would probably be the end of that conversation, Sirius made his way down the stairs to the common room. He might as well go and look at the notice board now, especially as Remus expected him to report back.

The common room was full to bursting when he entered. Most of the first years seemed to have gone up to bed but the rest of the Gryffindors were milling around. As usual, the biggest crowd was around the noticeboard by the window- a crowd which almost exclusively consisted of third and sixth years. McGonagall had already arranged the start of year meetings where they would decide their subjects and the list was pinned in the centre of the notice board. Below it were tattered bits of parchment encouraging them to pick one subject or another.

Sirius ignored those. He already knew what subjects he wanted to take. Peering over a lanky 3rd year's shoulder, he scanned the list for his name. They were listed alphabetically- all except his. His own name was at the very bottom, right below Walcott, Selena.

He wasn't sure what that meant. And he wasn't sure he wanted to know either.

 

* * *

 

 

McGonagall looked tired and drawn when Sirius' meeting finally came round. Several strands of hair had come loose from her usually pristine bun and her posture wasn't quite as rigid as it usually was. She beckoned him in, however, with the same stern look that she always possessed when talking to either him or James.

"So what will you be taking, Sirius?" she asked as he sat down.

Sirius lounged back in his chair, taking his time. "Well your subject obviously," he said. "Seeing as I did so well in it." He enjoyed the effect that that statement had on McGonagall. They both knew that he'd got top marks in his Transfiguration O.W.L, second only to James.

"Indeed," she said sharply, her expression as hard as nails. "Quite surprising considering your very poor work ethic. You should consider yourself lucky, Mr Black - and can tell you now that I said exactly the same to Mr Potter earlier- that as I am allowing you to carry on, I will be expecting hard graft this year. I do not tolerate slacking at NEWT level."

Sirius just smiled and let her rant on. He'd heard this all before.

"And Defence against the Dark Arts, I presume?"

"Yep," Sirius rocked back on his chair, ignoring the glare that McGonagall gave him. "Defence against the Dark Arts. And Charms. And Herbology."

Nodding, McGonagall wrote all three down on a piece of parchment.

"And the last one?"

Sirius allowed himself a smirk. "Astronomy," he said.

McGonagall raised an eyebrow. "Astronomy," she repeated. "I don't think so, Mr Black."

"Why not? I got an Exceeds Expectations in it?" A very surprising E, Sirius had to think. Unlike his other subjects, he hadn't actually deserved that one. He'd only passed because Remus had forced him to learn it and because one of questions had involved mapping Bellatrix in the Orion system.

"Why not?" McGonagall pursed her lips and ran her finger down a sheet of paper. "Well let's see," she said. "Because you only went to eight classes last year? Eight, Mr Black, Eight!"

Sirius had to laugh. "Exactly," he said. "Imagine how well I'd have done if I'd been to them all."

"Well we'll never know," she said. "And nor will we be finding out this year."

Sirius tried to disguise his irritation. He wished Sprout was his head of house- she'd have been persuaded easily. Even Slughorn would have been workable. "Please, Professor?" he asked, trying to sound sincere.

"My answer is no. And that is final, Mr Black."

"Why? I'm turning over a new leaf here, showing interest in my academic work." He flashed her a grin. "And I've even got the name for it, Professor. I was practically born to be an astronomer."

McGonagall was not amused. "I'll tell you why I'm not allowing you to take Astronomy, Mr Black. It's because I think you're choosing this subject for the wrong reasons."

Sirius smiled innocently at her. "And what reason is that, Professor?"

"The same reason why every other young man before you has suddenly decided to take Astronomy to NEWT level despite showing very little interest previously in it." She fixed him with her stare. "And I can tell you now, Mr Black; Professor Sinistra has better things to do than answer your love letters."

Sirius grinned. Even he could see he was fighting a losing battle here. "Muggle Studies then," he told her. "I'll ruffle old Betty's feathers instead."

McGonagall's jaw stiffened. "Might I remind you that use of teachers' first names is unacceptable, Mr Black."

Sirius nodded earnestly. "Yes, Minerva."

She didn't rise to the bait. She merely glared at him for a few moments before her eyes then flicked down to the piece of parchment in front of her. "No Potions?" she asked. "Slughorn speaks surprisingly highly of you. Says that your potions aren't bad when you're not replacing the raisins in tea cakes with beetle eyes and then feeding them to unsuspecting second years."

Sirius grinned. "We only did that once, Professor. And it was hot cross buns." He rocked back on his chair again.

"All the same, no Potions?"

Sirius shrugged. "Well it was a toss-up between Herbology and Potions, and everyone knows Herbology is a doss. Could pass that in my sleep."

McGonagall pursed her lips again but drew a line under 'Herbology" on the parchment all the same.

As soon as that was done, Sirius stood up to go. He was well aware that he'd pushed his luck with McGonagall today. He wasn't quite sure how he hadn't lost points for his cheek yet and he wanted to get safely from her sight before his luck ran out.

He only reached the door, however, before McGonagall's voice rang out again. "Before you go, Sirius, I want a word," she said.

Her tone was surprisingly gentle and Sirius felt his heart sink. That, combined with the use of his first name signified that they were getting on to a sensitive topic. "Yes?" He turned back towards her stiffly.

"I understand that you are no longer living with your parents."

Sirius chewed on the inside of his cheek. "Who told you that?"

"I was sent an owl first by the Magical Law Enforcement Squad and then by James' mother. Both seemed to think I should be aware of the situation."

"Is that so?" Sirius muttered. "Well personally I don't think it's any of your fucking business."

For once, McGonagall let his rudeness slide.

"As you wish, Sirius," she said tartly. "There's nothing you wish to talk about then? No worries or problems? I might remind you that Madame Pomfrey offers a confidential service."

Sirius scowled. "No thanks," he muttered. He yanked on the handle of the door angrily. This time, Professor McGonagall did not call him back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed it- I'm sorry that it was one of my shorter chapters. But lots more of Sirius coming in the next chapter and we're finally getting some scenes that warrant the story's M rating ;)
> 
> As always any reviews is much appreciated!
> 
> Sofia


	5. Empty Classrooms

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N First chapter from Emmeline- but it very much has a focus on Sirius. Be warned- this chapter has M rated content!

_ Empty Classrooms _

_ Emmeline _

* * *

 

The Great Hall was half empty when Emmeline arrived for lunch. It seemed that the lack of sleep last night had taken its toll, and she was more than several hours late in getting up. She'd struggled to get up this morning when the others had, and despite how loud they'd all been getting ready Emmeline had slept through it completely. She couldn't stop replaying what had happened with Sirius on the train. His words were going round and round in her head like a muggle record stuck on a single track. Not to mention her regret over sleeping with him. That shouldn't have happened. However to be fair to herself at the time she hadn't know what he would say afterwards, but still. It was probably her fault; she'd been a fool to ask him where they stood. Thankfully Sirius seemed to have cheered up a bit since that conversation, but she doubted it would change how he felt. He'd been very clear on that. He liked her but it was nothing more than that.

She sighed aloud, picking at her pasta with her fork. Maybe she should just tell him to fuck off and be done with him. No man could surely be worth this amount of anguish, no matter how good the sex was. Surely she could find someone else, someone who actually valued her feelings and wanted more from her than just a hard fuck every now and then. But maybe she was being a bit harsh, she knew Sirius did care. At least deep down he did. He was in a bad place right now, and maybe she needed to cut him a bit of slack.

Glancing at her watch she realised with a thump that she was almost late to Charms. Flitwick wasn't the strictest teacher, but he'd surely take a few points for being late to his first lesson of term. Not to mention the fact she really didn't want to draw any more attention to herself than was necessary at the moment. She got more than enough unwanted attention for being involved with Sirius as it was.

Emmeline arrived just as the rest of the 6th year were filing into the classroom. Catching her breath, she took a seat next to Lily who gave her a knowing smile. Emmeline had a distinct feeling that she understood why she was feeling down, but there was no way she could have known the specifics. She hadn't told anyone about what happened between her and Sirius on the train but Lily always had a way of figuring people out.

Thankfully the class was easy enough and necessitated little concentration. Flitwick began by going through the syllabus and how the step up to NEWT level would affect the difficulty of the content. Emmeline thought it all sounded okay; at least so far she was following the majority of what he was saying. Although the requirement of non-verbal magic was more than a little bit daunting. Emmeline had tried a few times to do a non-verbal summoning charm over the summer but the most she'd been able to accomplish was the quill she was trying to summon twitching ever so slightly. However, she supposed it would be easier when she'd been taught the theory. At least she hoped so.

The syllabus took a long time to explain, and before they all knew it the bell had rung to signal the end of class. She finished up her sentence on disillusionment charms, which was the last topic they would learn this year, and began to pack up her bag.

"That seems straight forward enough, doesn't it?" Lily asked her, smiling. Of course Lily would think that though, it was well known Lily was one of the best, if not the best at Charms in the entire year. That, and Potions.

"It seemed okay," Emmeline agreed. "But I bet McGonagall on Monday morning won't be."

"Yes, that would seem a bit optimistic," Lily replied, placing her Standard Book of Spells Grade 6 into her rucksack. They made their way out of the classroom and began to head back to the common room. They took a rather long way round for the Fat Friar had warned them that Peeves had been hanging around the staircase that led down from the Charms corridor. No-one wanted to meet Peeves when he was looking for trouble so they'd all made a rather large detour, re-routing back towards the Entrance Hall and up to the Gryffindor Tower from there. All except James, Sirius, Remus and Peter though. They hadn't seemed remotely bothered by Peeves and had gone off towards the main staircase as if they couldn't care less about being pelted with chalk.

They were just making their way up from the Entrance Hall when Emmeline felt a gentle tap on her shoulder. She swivelled round to see Sirius, standing behind her with his hands in his pockets and a rather neutral expression on his face. She had no idea how he had got there, he'd gone in completely the opposite direction out of the Charms classroom. But then again Sirius and James knew this castle better than Filch himself.

"Can I have a word?" he asked, uncharacteristically quiet.

"She doesn't want to see you." It was Lily who had spoken and even Emmeline was surprised by the venom in her voice. Given how she'd been on the train she supposed Lily was trying to do her a favour. But she just wished her friends could leave her to it. This didn't involve Lily or anyone else.

Grabbing Sirius by the arm she led him into an empty classroom. Sitting down on one of the desks she turned to face him.

"What do you want?" Emmeline asked impatiently. She was anxious to keep this discussion short given how the conversation on the train had panned out.

"Fuck, I'm really not wanted today am I?" Sirius laughed as he leaned back against the wall. "I just wanted to see you. Is that a crime?"

"No…." Emmeline said unsurely as she took in the boy in front of her. Man was probably a more accurate description now she thought as she surveyed him. She hadn't taken a good look at him on the train, she'd been too busy taking in what he had to say. He was even taller than he had been last year; pushing well over six foot at least. He'd also got broader over the summer, and coupled with his dark floppy hair and aristocratic good looks he could possibly be the best looking guy in Hogwarts. She sighed, it was just the personality she needed to work on. He seemed to have completely forgotten the fact they'd finished on a rather bad note less than 48 hours ago.

"So are you going to stare at me all day?" Sirius said, gently pushing her chin up so she was looking straight up at him.

"No…." Emmeline repeated, not actually sure what she wanted.

"Is 'no' all you can say?" Sirius smiled at her, wrapping his hands around her waist.

"No," she said again, a small smile reluctantly forming on her lips.

"Well I'm not convinced," Sirius said, his grip around her waist tightening. "What say we make use of this empty classroom?" he continued, lifting her ever so slightly off the desk.

Emmeline didn't say anything.

"I would need a 'yes' for that," Sirius said softly as he readjusted his grip on her. Putting her down, he placed a quick kiss on her forehead before taking her hand. Against her better judgement she gave his hand a squeeze. He was a world apart from how he'd been on the train- he was actually being sweet today, and she couldn't resist him when he was like this. But in the back of her mind she knew this wasn't how it always was. Sirius tended to mean well but he was prone to moodiness and downright irrationalism. All in all he wasn't easy. Especially when you were sleeping with him.

Emmeline sighed. Well she might as well make the most of it whilst he was in a good mood.

"That was wistful," noted Sirius, with an odd look on his face. For a moment Emmeline thought it might have been guilt.

"I was just thinking about what you said on the train," she said softly. She hadn't wanted to bring it up, not after they'd finished on such a bad note. But she couldn't pretend that it hadn't happened, that he hadn't said what he had.

"Em, I didn't mean any of that. I was angry and upset. You know what I'm like."

This surprised her. It was rare that Sirius ever acknowledged that he was wrong. He could be as stubborn as a mule when he wanted to be.

"So you didn't mean it when you said you didn't want anything meaningful?" Emmeline emphasised the last word, recalling what he'd said on the train. He wasn't going to get away with a half-arsed apology.

"I didn't mean it like that," he said simply, shifting his weight from one foot to the other.

"How did you mean it then?" she pressed.

"I just want things to be simple ok?" he replied somewhat impatiently. "I had a bad summer, let's leave it at that. I just don't want anything complicated at the moment."

"Which translates to you wanting to fuck me on the side?" Emmeline asked, her patience waning. She knew full well where conversations like this so often ended up, and this was fast turning into an exact repeat of the conversation they'd had on the train.

"No, it just means I don't want anything serious," he continued, his tone of voice letting her know he wouldn't appreciate the old age pun at the moment. "But it doesn't mean I don't want you. Or like you for that matter."

"So is this wanting me exclusive…?" Emmeline said slowly, knowing she was treading on thin ice.

"If you want it to be," Sirius shrugged, leaning back on the desk behind him. This hadn't been the answer she'd been expecting. Not convinced, she pushed him on it.

"But I wouldn't be your girlfriend?"

"What is it with females' obsession with labels?" Sirius sighed, putting his arm around her.

"I don't know," Emmeline admitted. "I suppose it just helps set expectations."

"Life is more fun with no expectations" Sirius laughed ruefully, with more than a tinge of bitterness.

"Are you sure about that?"

"No."

"So where does that leave us?"

"Take it or leave it Emmeline. The ball is in your court as they say."

Emmeline considered this for a moment. He was right, she was calling the shots here. Although the options he had given her weren't exactly what you'd call a wide selection. Essentially it was exclusive no-strings-attached sex, which to Emmeline seemed an oxymoron, a complete juxtaposition of possibilities, just as Marlene had warned Mary on the train. But if it was a choice between that and not having him at all, that was a different question. Sitting beside him now with her head on his chest she felt a familiar pang in her stomach; she couldn't deny she wanted him.

"What are you thinking about?" he asked gently, his hand on her arm.

"I was just thinking about how much my friends will kill me."

Sirius laughed; his trademark bark like one. "How charming. But, I don't really care what they think."

"Mmm," murmured Emmeline. She couldn't say she agreed. He didn't have to live with her roommates for the next two years after all.

"I do however care what you think," he continued, sitting down next to her and placing his hand on hers.

"I don't know what I think Sirius," Emmeline blurted out, unable to meet his eye.

He hadn't seemed to have been expecting this answer. No doubt he hadn't come across this much before. Most of the girls he slept with were foaming at the mouth for him, and probably were gossiping with their friends before he'd even got out the door. Indeed, her friends did also enjoy the gossip but they also worried for her. Lily and Alice especially. He wasn't good for her and they all knew it, Emmeline herself included.

She postponed answering by lightly kissing his neck. This seemed to be the response Sirius had been looking for. He responded in turn by placing his arms round her waist and lifting her gently onto his lap, knees either side of his legs. Straddling him, she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him deeply on the lips. Locked together, she rocked her hips against him as their kiss deepened.

She felt him harden against her and she knew what they both wanted. She wondered fleetingly if he'd had any sex over the summer. Maybe he had. She wouldn't put it past him. But she pushed those thoughts to the back of her mind, now wasn't the time to dwell on things like that. She instead turning her attention to unbuttoning his shirt. He had a lovely chest; nice and toned and with a light smattering of dark hair. Running her fingers down the trail of hair that led down from his belly-button she paused at the waistband of his trousers, looking up at him. His dark grey eyes met hers and he began lightly kissing her neck, his hands still on her waist as he rocked against her.

"I want you Em," he breathed between kisses.

She didn't say anything. But she wanted him too. Just as much as she always wanted him.

Sirius was now kissing her collar bone, and one hand had moved from her waist to deal with the buttons on her blouse. Unfastening them skilfully with the one hand, he slipped her blouse off over her shoulders. Moving his kisses further down, his hand moved to her bra strap, gently sliding it aside as he pushed her against him with his other hand. Her hands moved back to the fastening on his trousers as she got more and more worked up. She couldn't wait much longer and judging from his increasingly irregular breathing he couldn't either.

Undoing the button and zip on his trousers, Emmeline continued to rock herself against him. His hand was now making its way up her thigh, eventually resting against her knickers. Placing the palm of his hand flat against her clit he began to rub gently and rhythmically through the fabric.

"Now," Emmeline gasped as she grew increasingly close. "I need you now."

Sirius didn't need telling twice. Pulling his boxers down with one hand and moving her knickers aside with the other he thrust his cock deep inside her. Moaning into his neck she moved with him as he fucked her hard. This was why she was with him. She'd forgotten how good it felt having him inside her. Nothing mattered when they were like this. It was just him and her, complete and uncomplicated.

His hand had gone back to her clit, rubbing it in time with his thrusts as he fucked her. She was getting close again. Her breath was catching in her throat and she could think of nothing other than of how he felt inside her. Tugging hard on his hair, she breathed in the beautiful scent of his neck.

"Sirius…"

Sirius' only reply was to increase the pressure on her clit.

"I'm going to," she breathed into his neck.

"Tell me something I don't know," he hit back at her.

She knew he was cocky. And arrogant. But being with him like this, she wanted nothing more than for him to want her. For her to be the only girl that got to have him like this. And she could have it. Maybe not with the feelings and romance that Mary would demand, but she could be the only girl to fuck Sirius fucking Black. Maybe that could be enough.

As if in answer to that question she toppled over the edge, coming hard as he continued to thrust mercilessly into her. Laughing gently as she cried into his neck, he slowed down as her orgasm came to a close; the last waves of it ebbing away as she struggled for air.

"Good?" Sirius asked gently as he rocked her slowly against him.

Emmeline just hummed in response, placing her hand back in his dark hair and burying her head in the crook of his neck. Sirius picked up the pace again, and before long it was his own turn. However Emmeline was too lost in her post-orgasm bliss to really give much notice. His grip tightened on her hips and he came with a series of short sharp thrusts. Exhaling deeply he lay his head back against the wall behind him, wrapping his arms back around her tightly.

Emmeline didn't know how long they stayed like that. But eventually she became conscious of the fact that she was semi naked having just fucked Sirius Black in a not so private classroom just off the Entrance Hall.

"I should go," she said eventually, tugging on his hair.

Sirius still had his eyes closed but nodded in response. Picking her up gently, he placed her on the desk next to him and buttoned her shirt back up before kissing her softly on the top of her head. She did the same for him, running her fingers along his collarbone as she did the last few buttons up. Straightening her now rather damp knickers and skirt, she got up and without so much a glance backwards she grabbed her bag and headed back down the corridor.

She didn't feel like going back to Gryffindor Tower just yet. Facing the interrogation from the girls was not what she needed right now. Especially when she thought of how disappointed Lily would be in her. And Lily was right, Sirius wasn't good for her and probably never would be.

Wanting some more time to think things over she turned back on herself and headed out towards the castle grounds. As she was making her way out through the Entrance Hall she realised she hadn't given him an answer on the offer of being exclusive. Emmeline wasn't sure what she wanted from him; she knew deep down that she wouldn't be able to separate her feelings from the sex. But Sirius wouldn't change his mind; he just wasn't the sort for long-term monogamy. But he could be lovely when he wanted to be. And then he could be…. Her thoughts trailed off as she tried to find the right word. Well he could be Sirius.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N I hope you liked Sirius getting naked as much as I enjoyed writing it! As always please leave a comment ;) Next chapter will be from Lily's perspective.


	6. Normal

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Sorry this is slightly late but Merry Christmas and Happy new Year everyone! This is the second chapter from Lily and follows directly on from Emmeline and Sirius in the last chapter. Enjoy.

_ Normal _

_ Lily _

* * *

 

Lily flopped onto her bed wearily. She'd eaten way too much at dinner and her robes were just a little tight. She knew she should have got a new pair at Madame Malkin's when she'd visited Diagon Alley this summer.

"Where's Em?" Lily asked, hoping she wasn't still with Black. It had been hours since she'd left with him after Charms and surely even they would have run out of things to do to each other.

"Where do you think?" Hestia laughed, confirming Lily's suspicions.

Lily snorted. "I really don't know what she sees in him."

"Really?" Hestia looked surprised. "Even you can't deny that Black's gorgeous, right?"

Lily shrugged. "Sure he is," she admitted reluctantly. "But he's an idiot. Him and his mates."

"Remus is alright," Alice said quietly. "He's actually rather lovely if you get him on his own. And he's a prefect."

"Yeah sure," Lily sighed. "Remus is okay I suppose."

"Cute too," Marlene laughed. "Shame he never seems interested in girls. You know I wonder sometimes whether he's asexual."

Hestia shuffled up to sit on the edge of her bed. "You know, Marlene," she said fondly. "Just because he's not interested in you, it doesn't mean he's asexual."

Lily had to laugh. "Yeah, Marli," she smiled. "Maybe he likes being the only decent looking boy who hasn't slept with you."

Marlene rolled her eyes. "Not the only one," she chuckled. "But yeah you're right. Remus probably doesn't fancy me."

"Because he's got taste," Hestia laughed.

Lily snorted again. "As if. He's got very very poor taste in company."

Marlene stuck her tongue out at her. "Pot calling the kettle black, Lily."

Lily said nothing. Marlene had meant the comment fondly but she felt her good mood slip away instantly. She didn't want to talk about Sev.

"Well we all make mistakes," she said quietly after a while. "And I was wrong about Severus. He's just as much of an idiot as Potter and Black are."

"But Potter and Black are much more harmless," Hestia said softly. "Sure, they torment people sometimes but you should hear some of the stuff the Slytherins were saying about Snape on the train. They say he's a-"

"You don't need to say it," Lily murmured. "I know what they say he is."

There was a long awkward silence. There had been more than a few Slytherins who were rumoured to have signed up this year. She had to wonder if a few years down the line she'd be reading her ex classmates' names in the headlines of the Daily Prophet implicated in murders, rapes and disappearances.

"You know," Marlene murmured. "I have to wonder if that's why Sirius left home."

Lily frowned. "What do you mean?"

"I guess you wouldn't know, your parents are muggles, but the Blacks have, well, a bit of a reputation. I wouldn't be surprised if his parents were sort of expecting him to sign up."

Lily closed her eyes. "God," she said. "I mean yeah, he's a prat but he's no Death Eater." She paused. "Are the Potters like that? I mean, I've always been told they're just as rich and posh, right?"

Hestia laughed. "Nah," she said. "The Potters are a much nicer bunch. Filthy rich too but without the reputation for turning out dark wizards. Just good quidditch players."

For one of the first times in her life, Lily was rather glad that she was muggle born. She'd had no reputation when she'd arrived; she'd been a blank slate for people to make what they would of her. Nobody had seen her walking up to be sorted and remarked snidely to the person next to them "Another Evans. They're all a pain in the arse."

The conversation turned to what NEWTs everyone had picked during their meetings with McGonagall. Lily drifted in and out of the conversation, half interested in what her roommates were taking this year, but her thoughts were dwelling on Severus and what he'd said on the train. She knew their falling out during exams last year had been painful for both of them, and she'd sworn that it would be the end of their friendship, or whatever it was that they had been. She'd known deep down that Severus had always wanted it to be more than friends, however Lily had never reciprocated those feelings. At least not outwardly. Thinking back, she wasn't sure how she'd felt. Severus had been her best friend; the person she could tell anything to. But had she wanted to kiss him? She didn't know the answer to that. Part of her probably had done, if only out of curiosity, but she'd held back; she couldn't have toyed with Severus feelings like that. He wasn't like the other boys. He wasn't like James Potter whose feelings she would drag through a hedge and back again; Severus was sensitive and he'd have deserved better than that.

"Lily, are you okay?" Alice was suddenly sitting on her bed, a gentle hand on Lily's arm.

"Yes of course, why wouldn't I be?" Lily replied, trying to shake all the thoughts of Severus out of her head.

"You just seemed to have zoned out a bit."

Lily just smiled in reply, turning her attention back to the conversation that was going on around them. The conversation had moved on without her and had turned to the upcoming quidditch trials that would be held in the next few weeks. She hadn't been interested in quidditch at the best of times, however since Potter had been made captain her interest had dwindled further.

"Lily, are you still there?" Alice asked gently, squeezing her arm.

"Oh, yes. Was just listening to what they were saying about Porpington wanting to try out for keeper."

"Just riveting isn't it?" Alice asked, the corners of her mouth marginally turning up.

"Mmm," Lily murmured, trying to filter out Marlene's loud appreciation of Porpington's biceps.

"You're thinking about Snape aren't you?" Alice asked quietly.

"Yes," Lily answered, averting her gaze.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

Lily considered this for a moment. She wasn't sure she wanted to talk about it. What would it achieve? As far as she was concerned she and Severus were over. It was done and dusted. Nothing more to say.

"Thanks, but I'm okay Alice."

Alice's expression softened and she smiled at Lily. "You loved him didn't you?" Alice's voice was low and gentle.

Lily's breath caught in her throat. She hadn't been prepared for that question. She couldn't answer it to herself, let alone Alice. The consequences of such an admittance would stretch too far. She couldn't afford for things to be so complicated at the moment. Even if it was just inside her own head.

"I don't know," Lily finally answered, her voice cracking ever so slightly.

Alice gave her a knowing look and went back to getting ready for bed. Pulling her curly brown hair into a loose topknot she climbed under her duvet and left Lily alone with her thoughts. Alice had meant well, she always did. And somehow, despite her better judgement Lily felt better for it. Too often she left herself alone with her thoughts. She'd never been like Marlene or Mary who spilled every innocuous details of lives at the drop of a hat. But maybe she should make an effort to confide in her friends a bit more. It had been so difficult with Severus; none of them would have understood. But now he was behind her; and she'd be free to make new friends and indulge new romances- none of which would have an oddball Slytherin with greasy hair and a penchant for the dark arts hanging over it. She could find a nice normal boy, with nice normal friends and nice normal grades and maybe that was okay.

Lily closed her eyes, going over a mental list of boys who fit this specification. Maybe normal had been a bit wide of a brief, there were way too many eligible men who fitted these specs. Making a mental note to ask Marlene and Emmeline to help narrow it down for her tomorrow, she began to drift off.

It was another half an hour before she was vaguely aware of the door to the dormitory opening. It must have been Emmeline coming back. Pulling her half-conscious thoughts away from her pool of faceless nameless boys with normal friends and average grades, Lily opened her eyes to see Emmeline sitting on the bed next to her. The others were still awake, huddled on Marlene's bed in their pyjamas giggling at the rather obvious state of their roommate.

Emmeline looked more than a little flushed. Her long dark hair was rather tangled and her robes bore the unmistakable signs of having been put back on in a hurry. Her tie was hanging loosely around her neck and the buttons on her blouse were misaligned.

"Good time?" Marlene asked knowingly, a smile gracing her pretty face.

"You'd know," Emmeline retorted, not quite meeting Marlene's eye.

"Mmm," Marlene agreed.

"Marlene," Hestia said drowsily. "Are there any boys you haven't slept with? Aside from the aforementioned Remus Lupin of course."

Marlene snorted derisively. "None of the decent ones."

This even made Lily smile. Everyone knew Marlene got around so to speak. But at least she was honest and open about it, which was something Lily deeply admired in her. With Marlene, you knew what you were getting, and she always delivered on that with minimal fuss and minimal complications. It did occasionally ruffle a few feathers amongst the girls, but it never came between them for more than a term or so. Boys came and went, and even the girls in long term romances finally accepted that their boyfriend had slept with Marlene once upon a time in a dark dusty broom cupboard.

"So is Black decent?" Mary asked smirking.

"Who is this directed at?" Marlene asked, quickly glancing at Emmeline. "I mean, I don't feel I should answer when his erm girlfriend is in the room."

Marlene had used that word for lack of a better description. No-one really knew how it stood with her and Black still. Lily wasn't even sure if Emmeline herself knew. But what Lily did know was that it was better not to ask. Emmeline wasn't the best natured of all her roommates. Possibly because of her up and down relationship with the second in command of Potter's little gang.

However it appeared tonight, that Emmeline was in a good mood.

"Ha. Well I don't have the erm extensive benefit of comparison that Marlene does," Emmeline commented, nudging Marlene suggestively.

"That is true," Marlene said soberly, a twinkle in her pale blue eyes.

"Well, what's he like?!" Hestia asked giggling.

"Good," Marlene replied shortly.

"Is that all you're going to say?!" Mary asked indignantly.

"I feel any elaboration on that is Emmeline's territory"

"Well I think I'm going to have to leave you in the dark on the finer points of Sirius Black's sexual prowess," Emmeline answered, pulling off her robes and pulling on her pyjamas. She was smiling though, and judging from the still rosy glow of her cheeks she didn't need to elaborate. Lily was still yet to indulge in that particular pleasure, but even she knew the tell-tale signs of a girl who'd just had good sex. Living with Marlene was enough to teach you that.

"Oh come on!" Hestia was protesting. "You've at least got to tell us size!"

Both Marlene and Emmeline burst out laughing at this. Emmeline was shaking her head, her cheeks even redder, and Marlene was grinning at her knowingly.

"Well?" Mary prompted eagerly.

"He's got a micro penis. It's about half an inch long," Emmeline replied solemnly, obviously trying rather hard to stop herself from laughing.

"It's really quite tragic," Marlene pitched in, also on the precipice of uncontrollable giggles.

"You two are the biggest liars known to Hogwarts," Mary huffed, pulling her duvet up to her chin.

"Maybe we are or maybe we aren't," Emmeline replied, a look of mock pity on her face.

"Yeah as if," Hestia scowled. "I wish Black had a small cock but we all know it's not true."

Lily laughed at this. She had to agree with Hestia; both Black and Potter would deserve nothing better than to be endowed with less than average members. But like Hestia she also knew it wasn't likely to be true. Both Black and Potter had slept with enough girls and showered at enough quidditch matches for anything like that to be common knowledge. But still, a girl could hope.

Tuning out the conversation that was still raging around her, Lily closed her eyes again. And with thoughts of Potter and Black's fantasy humiliation whirling round her head, she drifted back off to sleep.

* * *

 

The sun was shining when Lily finally caught up with Marlene at lunch the next day. They'd headed out to the grounds after Potions to enjoy what was probably going to be the last stand of summer. The days were already beginning to get shorter, and as they headed in October there would be limited chances to enjoy the sunshine. At least not without a hat and scarf on.

They'd headed down to the lake, and had settled underneath a large oak tree. Lily took off her shoes and stretched out her legs on the grass. It might not have been particularly warm, but it was a pleasant temperature and there was something about being outdoors that infallibly put her in a good mood. However it seemed that the rest of the year had also had the same idea- she could see James Potter and his friends lounging on the other side of the lake under the shade of a large beech tree. Even from this distance she could see a golden snitch glittering ever so slightly in the autumn sunlight as it darted in and out of his hand. Lily snorted; as if that would ever impress her. However it seemed that she was an anomaly in that respect. A large group of giggling 5th years sat at the water's edge watching them in what was clearly devout admiration.

Trying to ignore them she turned to Marlene who was propped up against the trunk of the oak tree, her Defence Against the Dark Arts textbook on her lap and a large feathered quill in her hand.

"What do you think this new Defence professor will be like tomorrow morning?" Marlene asked, twirling her quill between her fingers.

"Well he has to be better than that old codger we had last year," Lily answered, thinking back on last year's offering. "Although I was sad when I heard he had died of dragon pox over the summer."

"I know," Marlene said, turning her book to the first chapter. "Getting dragon pox at his age though- there isn't really much you can do."

Lily pondered this for a moment. To her as a muggle-born it often seemed that wizarding healing was infallible, but of course that wasn't always the case. She supposed that at over 120 years old there wasn't much you could do in terms of treatment- muggle or magical. Lost in her thoughts, she suddenly remembered why she had tracked down Marlene. She'd spent the best part of Potions this morning thinking on potential suitors but hadn't narrowed her list at all. Quite simply she didn't really know that many boys. At least not well.

"Marlene, I was wondering if I could ask you a favour?" Lily asked her.

"Of course," Marlene said from over the top of her book. "What's up?"

"I was wondering if you could suggest some potential dates for me?" Lily continued, making sure to keep her voice low. Mary was sitting just feet away speaking to Hestia, and she'd really rather she wasn't privy to this discussion.

"You want advice on boys?" Marlene repeated at her, putting down her book and looking at her with newfound interest.

Lily nodded. "I just want to find someone nice and normal."

"Nice and normal…" Marlene mused. "That's a fairly wide bracket, any other requirements?"

"Smart, not boring, and preferably not obsessed with quidditch?"

Marlene paused. "Okay, so boy number one- how do you feel about Remus Lupin?"

Lily thought this over for a moment. Remus did fit all the specifications; he was smart, kind, and generally nice mannered. He also wasn't obsessed with quaffles and bludgers. But there was one very key problem.

"He does tick all the boxes but I can't stand his friends," Lily said. Marlene smiled at this, her blue eyes flashing.

"Fair point. Well how about one of the Prewetts?"

The Prewett twins were nice enough, but they hadn't been what Lily had in mind. For one, they were more than a little bit obsessed with quidditch, having both played for the Gryffindor team since their third year. However the main problem was that they were a year older than her, and they were not shy about their ambitions to help the war effort after they left school. As much as Lily admired them for it, she wasn't sure she that it would be for her. Not at this point in her life at least.

"Sorry Marlene, but I just don't think I would be able to cope with having a boyfriend who was determined to be killed before age twenty one," Lily replied. Marlene gave her a sad smile in response. It was well known Marlene was close to both of the Prewett twins.

"Well, how about Ptolemy MacMillan then?"

Lily grimaced. Ptolemy was nice enough, and ever polite and chivalrous. However on the flip side he could be rather pompous at times, and Lily wasn't sure she could date someone with Ptolemy for a first name. Her sister would never forgive her if she brought home a boy with such a silly outdated name. Her fiancé was called Vernon, which was much more mundane.

"Just no," Lily laughed.

"Fair enough, then….. what about…" Marlene trailed off. "Jeremy Brown?"

Lily had never even heard of this boy, which was surprising considering that she was now entering her 6th year at Hogwarts.

"Who is he?" Lily asked, racking her brain.

"5th year Ravenclaw," Marlene replied. "Before you get all huffy with me about him being younger than you, he is a really nice boy, and is very mature for his age. I also think he's a prefect this year."

Lily considered this for a moment. She supposed on paper he sounded okay. She had some reservations about dating someone younger than her, but she supposed just one date couldn't hurt.

"I suppose he sounds alright," Lily said slowly. "Do you think he would want to go out on a date?"

Marlene laughed. "Of course! What normal fifteen year old boy would turn down a date with a girl like you?!"

Lily smiled, she didn't share Marlene's option but it was nice of her to say so.

"Well, could you maybe mention it to him?" Lily asked, hoping that Marlene would be able to set something up for her. "How do you know him anyway?"

"He's in the same year and house as my sister," Marlene answered. She took out a pink diary out of her bag and scribbled something down on one of the pages. "I'll go ask him tomorrow for you if you like. I'll suggest the next Hogsmeade trip?"

"That sounds okay, hopefully he will agree," Lily said, trying not to think about the prospect of rejection. She had never had to deal with anyone turning her down. The only person who had ever tried to ask her out was James Potter and she'd never reciprocated any of his feelings. She supposed he might be the reason other boys didn't really approach her. Not only would people be wary of getting on the wrong side of the bully that was Potter, she was sure her own rather public rejections of him would have also put a few people off. She'd cursed and hexed him more times than she cared to remember, and was universally known for having a rather lethal aim.

"Course he will," Marlene replied. "I'm sure you'll like him, and even if you don't he has to be an improvement on Snape!"

Marlene had meant this comment to be amusing, and Lily couldn't blame her for it. But it did make her sad. Snape probably had been the closest thing she'd had to a boyfriend, if only in a platonic way. They'd never discussed anything romantic but Lily had always known that friends didn't look at you in the way he had.

"Well, that is true," Lily replied, forcing a smile.

"Or Potter!"

Lily genuinely smiled this time.

"That is definitely true."

She looked over to where Potter and his friends had been sat across the lake. Potter was no-where to be seen now but judging by the fact Black and Pettigrew were both standing staring up at a large beech tree, Potter must have been somewhere amongst the branches. Remus hadn't moved from where he'd been sat reading. She had to smile, sometimes she had to wonder how a boy that sensible could tolerate an idiot like Potter. Let alone like him. But the world worked in strange ways, and she supposed she'd just have to accept that she'd never understand things like that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Hope you liked it- if you are feeling festive then please leave a review as a thank you! Next chapter is from the lovely Remus and will be called "Materiality".
> 
> Sofia


	7. Materiality

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope everyone has had a good Christmas and New Year! I'm back at work and have just about survived the first week back. I hope you all like this chapter- it's been one of my favourites to write so far!

_ Materiality _

_ Remus _

* * *

 

"Today class we will be covering the art of conjuring items. This is what you might call the opposite of vanishing which you should all have mastered for your O.W.L."

Remus was listening hard. Transfiguration was by far the hardest subject he took and had been his lowest O.W.L mark.

"Now conjuring an item is much harder than vanishing and requires much more technical skill. Creating materiality out of nothing is not easy," McGonagall continued, swishing her wand as she made her way up the classroom aisle.

Remus hadn't attained a bad mark in the subject but he knew he could do better than a low E. It was of course made worse by his friends glowing marks in the subject; for they had all spent years mastering the art of becoming an animagus, finally achieving it last year. Whilst Remus had watched and helped them with the transformation it wasn't the same as actually doing it. It was like learning the theory with no practical.

As if to prove his point McGonagall flourished her wand. "And thus, we have an apple."

A perfectly formed apple had appeared on the table. She made it look so easy. She always did.

"Of course, a small inanimate object such as an apple is very easy. As you get more practiced at this art we will move on to more complicated material items, and eventually living matter. I will expect you all to finish this class next year being able to conjure living creatures with ease."

"Maybe we could conjure Wormtail a girlfriend," James said under his breath. "You know a nice female rat."

Remus had to laugh at this, even though it was poking fun at poor Peter.

"Does it count as losing your virginity if it also counts as bestiality?" Sirius snickered.

"Shut up…." Peter muttered back, his face even ruddier than usual.

"Why so serious Wormtail?" James taunted. "We all know Padfoot has a thing for miniature poodles."

"Mr Pettrigrew and Mr Potter," McGonagall's sharp eyes were suddenly on their row of desks. "No talking in my class. 5 points from Gryffindor apiece."

This announcement drew a few dark looks from the rest of the Gryffindors in the class. It was only five minutes into the first lesson of term with their head of house and they'd already lost points. Well, Remus hadn't, but he'd got used to being included in the same bracket that was his friendship group.

James was mouthing what looked like 'sorry' at an irate looking Lily Evans. She didn't seem to care much for his apology though, swishing her long red hair over her shoulder and staring decidedly at the front of the class.

"Can you talk to her for me?" James hissed at him, as McGonagall demonstrated the correct wand movement required to successfully conjure a material object.

"Why?" Remus said, trying to concentrate. "What bloody good would that do?"

"I need you to put in a good word for me."

"A word that good doesn't exist Prongs." It was Sirius who had spoken and for once Remus had to agree with his assessment.

"Fuck off," James replied, just a little too loudly.

"POTTER," McGonagall did not look impressed. Her thin lips were pursed and her brow furrowed. "I will not tolerate foul language in my class."

"I'm so sorry Professor, did I say something?" James asked. He couldn't have sounded less sincere if he'd tried.

"I will not be spoken to that way," McGonagall said as she swept down the aisle towards the desk he was currently sharing with James. "Out. _Now_."

James got up from his desk. Remus could tell he was trying to suppress a grin. Something he wasn't doing all that successfully. He shot Remus an amused look before muttering something inaudible at Sirius, and with that he strolled out of the classroom.

"Twenty five points from Gryffindor and detention tomorrow evening," McGonagall said after him. Remus wasn't sure if James had heard or not. He made a mental note to remind him at lunchtime. Even James wasn't stupid enough to skip a detention from McGonagall this early into term.

With James now removed from the class, Remus admittedly found it much easier to concentrate. The lesson continued without much excitement; in fact the only notable thing that happened was Hestia Jones managing to conjure a fruit that looked halfway between an half eaten apple and a rotten banana. All in all it was quite difficult to describe; it had been banana shaped but with a large bulbous, splotchy red and yellow tumour sprouting out of it. Although even conjuring that wasn't a bad attempt. Many of the class hadn't managed to make anything appear at all. Mary McDonald had got so frustrated she'd bent her wand hitting it angrily on her desk.

"God this is easy," Sirius remarked as a beautiful green apple appeared in his hand.

"I had instructed you to make it red," McGonagall had appeared out of nowhere.

"Well I don't really like red apples," Sirius said breezily, taking a bite out of the apple he'd just conjured. However, before he'd even swallowed his mouthful, he appeared to be choking, his face screwed up in disgust.

"Fucking hell," Sirius said, grimacing as he forced it down.

"And that leads me on Mr Black," McGonagall said loudly, and with a tiny hint of a smile on her lips. "To the fact that you cannot eat transfigured food. Why is this?" She addressed the class.

Lily's hand was up in the air almost as soon as the question had left her lips.

"Because of Gamp's Law of Elemental Transfiguration," Lily said quickly, clearly hoping to win back some points. "It's one of his five principles and states that you can't make food of any nutritional value out of nothing."

"Well phrased Miss Evans, 10 points to Gryffindor."

Lily beamed, thankfully not seeing Sirius behind her rolling his eyes. That was probably for the best. But Remus did have to concede that sometimes his friend, in fact two of his friends could do with being taken down a peg or two.

"I'm sure our old house elf used to," Sirius muttered as he glowered at Lily.

"Apparently not!" Peter said, copying down the words than had now appeared on the board.

"For homework I want you all to write an essay on Gamp's law covering the five principles and how they each affect elemental transfiguration. The best essays will cover the theory and mechanics of his principles. Recommended reading is on the board. Five scrolls of parchment."

"That sounds terribly difficult," Peter said quietly as he continued to scribble on his parchment.

"Yes, it does," Remus admitted.

"I will be testing you on each of the five theories next lesson so don't think you can hand in a substandard essay," McGonagall continued to audible groans from the class.

It was only the second class of term and already they had been set a five scroll essay and had a test to revise for. The year above him hadn't been joking when they said that sixth year was a huge step up from O.W.L level.

"Come on," Sirius said, stuffing his textbook roughly into his bag. "We can worry about this shit later."

Remus made his way out of the classroom with Sirius and Peter. They all had a free period now and they needed to find James and fill him in. Somehow he was positive that being absent from her class would not excuse him from the homework, nor the test.

The class reached the staircase where groups of students began to split off according to their houses. The Hufflepuffs and Slytherins all headed down the stairs towards their respective common rooms on the lower floors, or in Slytherin's case the dungeons. Remus, Sirius and Peter instead went up the stairs, following the rest of Gryffindor house towards the Tower. From there they could get the map and find James.

However it seemed that it wouldn't be necessary to retrieve the map. As they made their way up the stairs they could see James lounging on one of the steps, his glasses slightly askew. This would have been a good thing if Evans didn't happen to be between them and James. Lily, however was engrossed in her textbook, reading the passage on Gamp aloud to Alice and Hestia. Hopefully she wouldn't notice him.

"Morning Evans."

Remus groaned, God Prongs could be an idiot sometimes.

Lily's eyes snapped up from her book.

"What do you want?" she asked disdainfully, sidestepping round him.

"Nothing," James said, getting up and falling into step with her. "Just wanted to see how you were. Haven't really caught up with you since the summer you know."

"That was in fact deliberate."

"That's not very nice Evans," James said, grabbing her wrist.

"That was _also_ deliberate."

Remus knew where this was going- probably time to intervene. Ignoring Sirius' smirk he hurried up the stairs towards them.

"You know James, we really ought to fill you in on the homework" Remus said desperately, hoping this would distract James enough to allow Lily time to get out of his way.

"Five whole scrolls of parchment! And a test!" Peter added, obviously having understood Remus' intentions. Sirius said nothing, instead leaning casually against the wall and evidently enjoying the entertainment.

"Is that why Evans is walking around with a textbook?" James replied, tearing the book from Lily's grasp.

"That's mine!" Lily yelled, snatching at it wildly. "You give that back right now you… you arrogant piece of dirt!"

"Or maybe," James continued, the expression on his face hardening. "Snivellus has just rubbed off on you. He doesn't seem capable of walking without following instructions from a book."

Sirius let out a soft whistle. This was low, even for James.

Lily had turned a violet shade of scarlet, veins visible on her temple as she turned to face him.

"You. Give. That. Back. Right. Now," she said, taking a visible deep breath between each word.

"Nah, I think I'll keep it," James said lightly. "A souvenir of the lesson I missed."

And with that James darted up the stairs, the textbook safely in his hand. Lily followed, but had no hope of catching him up. She wasn't short, but she had neither the speed nor the stamina of a near fully grown man.

"I think we leave them to it," Sirius said, watching them as they vanished up the stairs. "Maybe by the time we've got up there they will have had hot passionate sex and gotten over each other."

"Ha. You want to bet on that?" Remus asked, patting Sirius on the back.

"Nah, afraid not Mooney old pal," Sirius replied. "You see, unlike previous years, I now actually have to think about money."

"Well you'd better improve your wagers then. I seem to recall you lost over 100 galleons last year." Peter piped in.

"That is indeed true," Sirius said as they made their way slowly up the stairs. "But you know what? I'll take this bet."

"What bet?"

"Prongs and Evans."

"Are you mad Padfoot?" Remus asked, questioning his friend's sanity.

"Maybe," Sirius replied nonchalantly. "It runs in the family you know."

"So what are the stakes?" Peter asked, reaching for loose change in his pocket.

"10 galleons?"

"Done," Peter said quickly, always eager to pocket some extra money.

"That's a substantial amount for someone who relies on the Potter's generosity to eat," Remus mused aloud.

"I have confidence."

"On what exactly?"

"Prongs and Lily shagging."

"When by?"

"End of school."

"But they don't even like each other," Peter said, looking baffled.

"You see you've forgotten a very important point there," Sirius said, stifling a yawn.

"What's that?" Peter asked indignantly.

"You don't have to _like_ someone to fuck them."

Remus watched as Sirius continued up the stairs. He was right, as much as it pained him to admit it. But Lily wasn't the sort. She was a good, decent girl, a prefect. She had way too much self-respect to degrade herself by sleeping with Prongs in that fashion.

They made their way through the portrait hole in silence. Heading up to the dormitory Remus spotted Emmeline out of the corner of his eye sitting by the fireplace. She was laughing at something Mary McDonald was saying, a broad smile on her face. She didn't seem to have seen Sirius. Probably a good thing, Remus sighed to himself. She deserved so much better.

And with that Remus followed Sirius up the stairs to the boys' dormitory.

 

* * *

 

 

"Out of there," Remus sighed as he opened yet another classroom door to reveal two students in a rather compromising situation. Tiffany McKinnon, the 5th year prefect who was accompanying him on this particular patrol, turned her head, her pale cheeks colouring as the occupants of the room desperately tried to untangle themselves. Tiffany was so unlike her sister Marlene in both personality and looks he mused as her cheeks turned an ever brighter shade of scarlet. Most boys overlooked her, but Remus thought her interesting looking. She might not be blonde and curvy like her sister Marlene, but she had kind eyes and a slender figure. However with her brown mass of tight ringlets that could only really be described as frizzy, and her shy and rule abiding nature she generally went unnoticed.

He turned his attention back to the scene in front of him. The girl, who he now recognised as Cleo Fox, turned to the yet to be identified male and gave him a kiss on the cheek before sauntering out across the room. As a fifth year Ravenclaw he had a sneaking suspicion that she shared a dorm with his fellow prefect. This could potentially get awkward.

"Are they decent?" Tiffany asked, peeking through the door of the empty Charms classroom.

Remus nodded, unsure whether to enlighten her as to the identity of the girl. Might be better just to claim ignorance. After all, it wasn't his place to get involved, and she must have been used to it what with her own sister's reputation…. And even he in the year above knew Cleo Fox had a very similar, if not worse reputation than Marlene. In fact he was sure both James and Sirius had snogged her, and in Sirius' case probably worse.

"Hi Tiffany," Cleo said casually as she strode out of the room. She clearly had been caught in similar situations and harboured no shame about this fact. The boy, who Remus could now see was Blake Porpington, a 7th year Gryffindor, swaggered out of the room after her with a smirk on his face and a definite spring in his step.

"Evening Lupin," Porpington said breezily, winking at Cleo who was stifling a giggle.

"You're out of bed after hours," Lupin said calmly. "As prefects we are duty bound to report you to your respective head of houses."

"Now now Lupin, not so hasty," Porpington replied cheerfully "I'm sure we can sort this out. Gryffindor to Gryffindor eh?"

Lupin grimaced. He hated it when members of his house tried this on him. He made allowances sometimes for Prongs and Padfoot, if only because it made his life considerably easier, but he always did it with a twinge of guilt. He'd always imagined Dumbledore had made him a prefect with the aim of keeping his fellow marauders in line, and if that was his reasoning he'd let him down. Badly.

"I'm afraid that would completely undermine the prefects system," Tiffany chipped in nervously, shrinking as both Porpington and Jones gave her a disparaging look.

"Whatever," Porpington shrugged. "Could mean I'll miss the quidditch try outs though, and I'm probably the best keeper the house has. McGonagall has already given two people detention for the night we've got the pitch booked. Deliberately probably."

Lupin raised an eye brow "And why would that persuade me to make an exception?"

"House spirit? Loyalty?" Porpington looked angry now. "Or just not being a complete and utter backstabbing tosser? Take your pick."

"Black's better than you," Lupin replied, knowing that hadn't been the right reply. It really shouldn't matter, even if he was better than Padfoot.

"Yeah but he's so unreliable. He spends half his life in detention, so you'd at least need a decent reserve."

This was true Remus conceded, not that this either should sway his judgment.

"Not going to work Porpington. I'll be letting McGonagall know tomorrow morning."

"And I'll be speaking with Flitwick," Tiffany said quietly, not meeting Cleo's eye. Not that Cleo seemed to mind, for she just smiled at Tiffany and shrugged.

Porpington however didn't seem to share his female companion's positive outlook. He swore loudly and shot a look at Remus as if he wanted to murder him.

"Well if we lose the house cup because we have an utter shite keeper then we all know who is to blame," he said, his voice swathed with arrogance.

"I'm sure I'll cope," Remus said, trying not to imagine what James would say if they did actually lose the cup for this reason.

"Come on," Cleo said, looking down at her rather dishevelled uniform. "I need to go to bed. I'm kinda tired."

"Okay, well we can go back together. Our shift officially ended five minutes ago," Tiffany nodded in agreement, looking at her watch. "See you next week Remus."

"Oh and make sure Blake gets back to bed okay," Cleo said swishing her bouncy waves over her shoulder "He's terrible with directions. You'd never think finding a girl's clit would be quite that difficult."

Porpington's arrogant smirk vanished almost instantly. Tiffany, her cheeks regaining their scarlet hue looked nervously at Remus. However he didn't know what to say either. Probably was best to let the two of them get on with it, who was he to wade in on a domestic. Shooting a look back at Tiffany he stayed silent.

"Whatever Fox. Don't know why I was fucking you in the first place anyway. I'm not into other picking up other men's leftovers."

"Whatever. We both know you'll fuck anything that lets you," Cleo responded smoothly, taking Tiffany's hand and walking off down the corridor towards Ravenclaw Tower.

As they disappeared round the corner Remus turned to Porpington who was staring after them with a murderous look on his face, obviously stunned as what to say.

"Come on," Remus said turning to Porpington "It's late. We need to get going too."

The two walked in awkward silence back to Gryffindor tower. Climbing in through the portrait hole, they entered the common room, deserted except for Frank Longbottom who was scribbling furiously on a piece of parchment. The dim remnants of the fire flickered slightly, illuminating his face. He looked tired and drawn as he squinted down at his Potions textbook. It was no wonder the poor man looked stressed- it was well known he had ambitions to join the Auror Office, and they only took the very best.

Leaving Longbottom to his late night essay he followed a still cursing Porpington up the stairs to the boys' dormitory. He hadn't realised quite how tired he was. The full moon was approaching in a week's time and that combined with a late night prefect patrol was enough to make him feel like he could sleep for days.

Trying to be as quiet as possible he pushed open the door to his dormitory. It was gone midnight but he wasn't sure if the others would be asleep yet. There had been talks at dinner earlier of planning for the fast approaching full moon, and that could be a topic that easily took up a whole night. The full moon was his worst fear, he dreaded it from the moment he awoke battered and bruised in the hospital wing, but the others forever looked forward to their nights roaming the forest with avid anticipation. Remus had occasionally thought this insensitive however each time he pushed it to the back of his mind remembering the extreme lengths his friends had gone to make the experience considerably more bearable for him.

"Is that Padfoot or Moony?" A voice came from the window, breaking the deadly silence of the room. He'd spent enough time among his friends to recognise it as James.

Glancing over at the bed second closest to the door he realised that Sirius must still be out somewhere for his bed was empty- the sheets still neatly made up and the pillow undented.

"No, just me I'm afraid. Just got back off prefect patrol."

"Didn't see Padfoot did you? He's probably out doing something unsavoury with some girl…" James trailed off, not needing to say anything more.

"Maybe, but he knows better than to let himself get caught by an average prefect's patrol."

"Generally," James replied sleepily. "But the prospect of sex can make men think rather illogically."

"I wouldn't really know about that," Remus replied, wanting nothing more than to finish this conversation and climb into bed.

"So who did you catch at it this time then?" This time it was Peter who spoke, his voice much higher than James', and with a distinctive squeak that gave reason to the fact his animagus was in fact a rodent.

"Just Cleo Fox and-"

"Ooh she's fit," James piped up from the corner. "In fact I think I snogged her at last year's Slug Club party. Or was that Lorraine Edgecombe?"

"No it was Cleo Fox," Remus sighed, remembering the incident. Fox had arrived with Betram Aubrey however had ended the night crammed into one of Filch's broom cupboards with her tongue down James' throat. Aubrey understandably hadn't been too happy about this, and he distinctly remembered him having confronted them on their way down to the Herbology greenhouses the next morning. However sadly picking a fight with the Marauder's hadn't ended well for him. He didn't know who had cast the spell but James and Sirius both ended up in detention for using an illegal curse and Aubrey had spent three nights in the Hospital Wing having his head gradually deflated by Madame Pomfrey.

"Who was she with then? Please tell me she's not back with bloody Betram Aubrey?"

"No, Blake Porpington. 7th year Gryffindor," Remus replied, pulling on his pyjamas and climbing under his duvet.

"Oh him," James paused for a moment. "I've got my eye on him actually. Word on the street is that he's a decent keeper. Always looking for a good reserve."

Remus grimaced, James was going to kill him if his detention with McGonagall was the reason Porpington missed try outs. However not was not the time to mention that. He would cross that bridge when he came to it. Now, all he wanted to do was sleep.

"Hmm," Remus said vaguely "No offence Prongs, but I really need to get some sleep. Got a full day tomorrow and I need to get up early to start that essay for McGonagall before we see that new Defence teacher."

"Sure thing. See you in the morning then," James said yawning, rolling over to face the window. He thought Peter must have drifted back to sleep, for no noise came from the bed nearest the door. Cursing the fact that Sirius was still awake somewhere and likely to wake him up at god knows what time in the morning, he rolled over and closed his eyes, asleep almost as soon as his hit the pillow.

 

* * *

 

 

"Shh, keep it down…"

Remus' eyes fluttered open, he had been having a lovely dream about getting straight O's on his N.E.W.T.s and the Ministry granting him a cure for his lycanthropy in honour of his academic achievement. Even in his unconscious state he had known that it wasn't real, or even possible, but that somehow hadn't mattered. It was an escape, and an escape that he was thankful for. Rolling over he turned to face the source of the noise that had rudely awoken him. He could make out the dark figure of what he presumed was Sirius by the door, however he didn't seem to be alone.

"I _can't_ ," a female voice hissed from the doorway.

"Well you can't complain about me loving and leaving you can you?" This time he recognised the voice as Sirius', and also noted that he sounded more than a bit tipsy. Remus supposed one would have to be rather intoxicated to be as brazen as to bring a girl back to your dormitory, let alone to construe this as romantic. He supposed he should say something, but coming between a drunk Padfoot and his girl was probably not the best idea. Hopefully they would make some more noise and wake up Prongs. He'd know what to say. He always did when it came to Sirius.

"Fine. But pull the curtains to," the girl replied, sounding more than a bit anxious.

"I don't know about that, are you not into voyeurism?" Sirius replied, sarcasm dripping off his every syllable.

"Funnily enough no," the girl said, fumbling past Peter's bed and climbing into Sirius'. Remus' eyes were starting to adjust to the darkness and he now could see the girl as more than just a faceless silhouette. His eyes were immediately drawn to the long dark hair- fuck, it was Emmeline. He hadn't though it had been anything serious with Emmeline, however, judging from the fact that she was now stripping off under Sirius' duvet he had to have his doubts. It wasn't like Sirius to bring females back into his own territory, and Remus wasn't sure what this meant. He averted his gaze, he had no particular desire to see Emmeline Vance naked, even if it was near pitch black.

With a rather loud thump and the sound of curtains being drawn, he thought it would probably be safe to look. Still weighing up whether or not to say anything he watched silently through the slight gap Sirius had left in the curtains as his fellow roommate pinned Emmeline and beneath him and began to kiss her. Remus was actually surprised by how gentle he seemed, his arms were wrapped round Emmeline and he was trailing kisses lightly down her neck. Remus rolled over, he had seen Padfoot doing an all manner of sexual things that he'd rather have not seen, but anything with an ounce of intimacy was a step too far. That was something that was never acceptable, regardless of how close friends you were.

"Sirius?" James groaned from the corner, his tone somewhere between annoyance and disbelief.

"Mmmm," Sirius replied, his lips not leaving Emmeline's neck.

"Umm, could you maybe do this someplace else?"

"Do what somewhere else? What's happening?!" Peter piped up from the corner sounding completely and utterly bewildered.

"Fuck his…" James paused, evidently thinking of the most tactful word to describe whatever Emmeline was "Lady friend…" He eventually settled on.

"Wait there is a girl in our dormitory?!" Peter cried out, evidently more than a little distressed at this revelation.

"I'm not fucking her. Been there done that already tonight," Sirius replied to James' outstanding question, as if this made the fact he was snogging a girl in the bed next to them completely acceptable.

Remus wished he could see Emmeline's face. No doubt she must have been as uncomfortable, if not more so, than the rest of them were right now. God only knows how it would feel to be in that situation and Remus felt a pang of pity for her. She made poor choices, that much was a given, but regardless of how little Remus understood of girls' motivations for fucking one of his best friends, he couldn't help but feel more than a little bit sorry for her. After all, he supposed it wasn't her fault who she fell for. And Sirius had always had a way of keeping people coming back for more. He was reckless, too good looking for his own good and couldn't give a fuck what anyone, other than maybe James, thought about him. All in all it was a recipe for disaster when it came to girls and their rather fragile teenage hearts.

"Right," James said eventually, probably realising he was not going to get anywhere with this conversation. "But anything past second base and you will regret it."

"Mmhmm," Sirius replied absent-mindedly, obviously still preoccupied with whatever he was doing to Emmeline. She had remained silent throughout this exchange, whether from embarrassment or because she was enjoying whatever Sirius was doing to her, he didn't know. He suspected the former. Regardless of how much firewhisky Sirius had shared with her, he doubted she was the sort of girl to enjoy such a voyeuristic experience. A girl like Marlene would have taken it on the chin, but not Emmeline, she was far too uptight to simply not give a damn about the fact three boys were commenting on her presence in their best friend's bed. Not that she'd ever admit it though.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'd just like to say thank you to all the people who do review this story! My regulars know who you are! I love chatting with all of my reviewers so please do leave a review if you like to chat all things Marauders!


	8. Gemino

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N We're back with James for this chapter in the first DADA class of the year.

James sat idly on his chair, doodling on his piece of parchment aimlessly. The whole class was sat waiting for their new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher Professor Spencer-Harding, to arrive. James couldn't say he had high expectations. The school hadn't been able to hold down a Defence teacher for longer than a year for eons, and as such the offerings were normally poor. He doubted Professor Spencer-Harding would be any different. Especially with a name like that.

Scribbling out his doodling he scrunched up the piece of parchment. Snivellus was three desks directly ahead of him and he reckoned he could get at least one good shot in before the lesson started.

He held his arm outstretched, aiming squarely for the back of Snivellus' grease ball head. Just as he was about to fire, he caught Evans watching him out of the corner of his eye. She looked less than unimpressed and given he'd confiscated her prized transfiguration textbook yesterday it might be wise to play it safe. He sighed and instead chucked it at Sirius next to him who was seemingly asleep on his desk, his head resting on his folded arms. The piece of parchment hit him squarely on the nose and he sat up, scowling.

"What the fuck was that for?"

"You shouldn't be sleeping in class Mr Black," James said loudly, hoping to catch the attention of Evans again. Hopefully she would be convinced that he had aimed to hit Sirius all along. Something told him she wouldn't have as much of a problem with him socking Sirius as opposed to _Snivellus._

Sirius did however have a problem with this. He'd picked up the price of parchment that James had just hit him with and shoved it back in his own face. James just laughed. He'd tell Sirius the real reason why he'd been on his hit-list later.

The door suddenly opened and a man walked in, who James presumed was Professor whatever-his-name. His first impression was that he was dressed ever so strangely. He was wearing what he knew to be a muggle suit. This wasn't overly weird in itself. But the whole thing was constructed out of a patterned sort of tweed, complete with an equally hideous matching waist coat. Looking upwards to his head, James saw the image was completed by a pretentious little bowler hat perched on his head and a rather aristocratic looking moustache. All in all it was a rather peculiar look and James couldn't say he was a fan. It may have been the seventies, but still.

The Professor cleared his throat. "Good morning students, my name is Professor Spencer-Harding and it is an absolute pleasure to meet you. As our cousins across the channel would say, enchanté!"

James snickered. This had to be one of the cheesiest opening lines he'd heard so far, and he'd heard more than a fair few contenders. He glanced at Sirius who was looking equally unimpressed. Sirius had little patience for badly placed French. As a Black he spoke the language fluently. That family clung on to its pretentious French motto like there was no tomorrow.

"I do sincerely apologise that I wasn't able to attend the feast last week. I did endeavour to attend however unfortunately it clashed with another engagement that I had already committed to."

James shared another look with Sirius, wondering where the hell Dumbledore had dug this man up from. He seemed to recall that he was a professor at some pretentious muggle university. He surely had to be a muggle born, not that there was anything wrong with that. But he dressed like a 19th century muggle and spoke as if he were addressing Queen Elizabeth the bloody second.

"To get better acquainted I'd like to propose an ice breaker exercise where we all go around the class and say an interesting fact about your glorious self."

James rolled his eyes. He hated nothing more than fake introductions. Although admittedly it would be fun to hear what his fellow classmates thought was interesting about themselves. Looking at Lucinda Lou who was sat at the desk right at the front, he was struggling to think of anything that was even vaguely worth listening about, let alone interesting in regards to her _glorious self._

"We'll be nice and traditional and start at the top of the alphabet okay chaps?" He picked up the register from the front desk and began to read aloud. "Ayre, Charity."

Charity Ayre, a Ravenclaw student, stood up and began to address the class, sounding more than a tad nervous. James was curious as to what she'd say, Charity was well known for being just as virtuous as her name suggested. Many boys had tried and failed to seduce her over the years for she was actually rather pretty if you could get past the whole prim look she had going on.

"I'm Charity," she started. "My interesting fact is that I am a fully practising Catholic and I started the Roman Catholic Prayer Group during my second year which organises prayers every lunchtime and dinner."

The Roman Catholic Prayer Group? James had nothing against people who were religious but this surely had to take the biscuit. He couldn't imagine having enough spare time to warrant something as dull as organised prayer at every meal-time.

The next person to be called forward would be Sirius, who with the surname Black was always at the top end of alphabetical lists. It was times like this when James was thankful for his surname being in the lower half of the alphabet. He always got to go close to last for most things, which suited him just fine. He was never prepared for anything and it was always helpful to have some extra time to think through exactly just how you were going to wing it.

Sirius nudged him, seemingly having gotten over his rude awakening earlier. "Fancy swapping Prongs?"

This could actually be fairly entertaining, how hadn't they ever done this before? They'd had five new teachers in a row for this class and they'd never thought to play this joke. Well James was certainly game for this. It would be hilarious to see how long they could string poor Professor Spencer-Harding along for. James would be willing to bet they could get away with it for at least a few weeks. Ignoring the despairing look Remus was giving them, he stood up and flashed a grin at the class, daring them to say something. They all remained silent though, even godforsaken Lucinda Lou who loved nothing better than to police the class. However it seemed that for the moment they'd beaten her into submission for the time being. Obviously she'd learnt that it wasn't worth getting in the way.

He paused for a moment, trying to think of something witty to say. After all he rarely had such readily available opportunities to get one up on his best mate.

"I'm Sirius Black and... I currently have a raging hard on for the new Astronomy Teacher."

The class roared with appreciative laughter. James somehow didn't think that had been the sort of interesting fact Professor Spencer-Harding had been looking for when he suggested this exercise. But his reaction was rather gratifying nonetheless. He was staring at James with a horrified look on his face and his mouth hanging open slightly. He'd obviously not been prepared for this kind of behaviour in his class. But James was confident he would learn. And quickly.

James turned to look at Sirius who had let out a low whistle and was leaning back on his chair with a small smirk on his face.

"I'm honoured you noticed Prongs," he said wryly as James sat back down. James clapped him on the back and met Remus' eye. He seemed moderately amused, a small smile playing on his lips. Peter on the other hand was on the edge of his seat, his appreciation much less subtle. But Peter was always much easier to please.

Now back in his seat he watched as Burgess, Daisy was called up followed by Daniels, Chelsea. They were both Hufflepuff's and he couldn't say he cared much about what either of them had to say. Although Chelsea he knew as a fairly decent quidditch player. She'd played seeker for Hufflepuff last year and hadn't been all that bad. She'd certainly been better than their offering, Gilly Douglas, now a 5th year Gryffindor. She had not been good by any stretch of the imagination but hopefully he would pick someone better up this year. It was his first year as captain and he had his eyes firmly set on the cup.

He was drawn back to the class when he heard the next person called up.

"Evans, Lily."

He watched her as she stood up. She'd gotten slightly taller over the summer and this had only made her even more beautiful. Her fire-red hair shone as she absent-mindedly tossed it over her shoulder, her voice loud and crystal clear as she addressed the class. James sighed; why was it the only girl that he'd ever really liked that seemed to hate every word that came out of his mouth? But maybe this year would be different. She was no longer hanging around with Snivellus and that had to make a difference. He had been saying for years that his influence had been rubbing off on her. He'd prejudiced her against him and surely taken great pleasure in doing so.

"I'm Lily Evans, and I once hit a moving target with a jelly legs jinx from 50 metres."

James raised his gaze to see her looking directly at him, her green eyes narrowed ever so slightly. James had to admire her audacity. James himself had been her target on this particular occasion and could testify that it had been a rather impressive shot. Remus and Sirius hadn't let him live it down for weeks.

It was Alice Hall's turn next. She stood up and gave a really boring fact about how she was planning to open a cake shop after she graduated from Hogwarts. That wasn't something new. It was well known that Alice Hall wanted to bake cakes for a living whilst her long term boyfriend Frank wanted to go into the Auror office. James had never tasted Alice's cakes but he thought it was a terrible waste. Alice was terribly clever and very talented with a wand too, and could have aspired to so much more. But he supposed not everyone was cut for such a career. With Voldemort gaining more power every day the life expectancy of new recruits into the Auror Office left a lot to be desired. Well, at least Alice could make a nice cake for the funeral.

Hestia Jones was now standing up and addressing the class. Her interesting fact was about never being to finish things she started. This was true; Hestia was always late in giving in homework and was forever starting things she never got around to finishing. It was a running joke that Hestia had been trying to finish Hogwarts: A History since buying it in Flourish and Blott's the summer before she started at Hogwarts. The latest James had heard was that she'd reached chapter seven: The Tragedy of Rowena Ravenclaw.

Remus would be up soon, but his interesting fact wouldn't be that exciting either. Of course, his most interesting fact would have been much more dramatic, but somehow he didn't think Remus was about to stand up and announce his lycanthropy to his Defence Against the Dark Arts class.

Remus duly stood up and announced that he spent a lot of time out of school due to his mother's ongoing ill health. This drew a few sad sobs from the class, the girls in particular. He had never understood how they all bought this story, but they all seemed to lap it up well enough. Daisy Burgess, even seemed to be on the verge of tears. However that was normal for Daisy who was weepy at the best of times. He recalled an incident last year when she'd burst randomly into tears when Professor McGonagall had demonstrated her animagus transformation. When asked why she had sobbed that she was overcome by "the beauty of magic." This hadn't made any sense to them but Marlene McKinnon had informed them at the time that Daisy had been 'hormonal'. He didn't really know what that meant but had understood enough to know that he wasn't inclined to find out more.

McDonald was now speaking but James wasn't really paying attention. Mary was as vapid and self-absorbed as they came. Her interesting fact was just as superficial; Mary's life ambition was to write the gossip column for Witch Weekly. To be fair she'd probably be fairly good at that. Mary excelled in making up and spreading mean rumours about anyone and everyone.

"McKinnon, Marlene," Spencer-Harding said, looking around the class.

James saw Marlene flash a smile in his direction but he knew it wasn't aimed for him. He got on with Marlene, and knew her fairly well having been a fellow chaser with her on the Gryffindor team for the last three years. But it was Sirius who she really got on with. They were good friends and always had been. They had similar interests, mainly their shared love of the opposite sex. It was no wonder Emmeline was looking a little bit wary as Marlene's eyes left Sirius. She didn't have anything to worry about but he supposed he couldn't blame Emmeline for thinking otherwise.

"I'm Marlene McKinnon, and I once got the Gryffindor quidditch team disqualified for accidentally catching the snitch when it flew down my robes."

James smiled; that brought back nostalgic memories. The captain at the time, Rachael Coates had not been at all impressed. It had been a critical game against Hufflepuff and definitely a factor in why they had lost the cup that year. James had thought Coates had overreacted at the time but now he was captain he kind of understood where she had been coming from.

The Slytherin dimwit Mulciber followed Marlene. James couldn't even understand what his interesting fact had been. It was somewhat hard to follow given he conversed almost entirely with grunts.

James went back to doodling on his piece of parchment. This class was growing more tedious by the minute. If he and Sirius hadn't shaken it up a bit then it would have been a complete write off. But Sirius would be up soon, Packard, Richard had just been called. James looked over at Sirius who was smirking to himself. He'd obviously thought up something good. He always knew there was a benefit to being later in the alphabet.

"Potter, James."

James winced as Sirius stood up, a broad smile on his face as he turned to address the class. His gaze was focused directly on Lily Evans, who didn't seem to be appreciating this newly bestowed attention. James took a deep breath, he could see where this was going.

"I'm James Potter, and I fell in love at first sight," Sirius said as Professor Spencer-Harding nodded along. "I've been in love with Lily Evans since I ever spied her getting changed on the Hogwarts Express six years ago. Seeing her virginal white knickers that day lit a burning fire deep within my loins and I swore that someday, somehow I would own that pair of knickers."

James bit down on the inside of his cheek. He'd played the game and on this occasion he had lost with rather significant consequences. He swivelled round and saw his fears were confirmed. Lily was looking absolutely horrified, sheer shock etched on her face. James sighed, she may be shocked now but this would soon turn to anger. Lily's emotions existed on a very short spectrum; she could go from serene calm to inexplicable rage within a matter of seconds. It was one of the reasons he loved her, she was forever unpredictable.

"So last year I set to work on obtaining my grand prize," Sirius continued. "It was a beautiful day in mid Ma-"

"You don't need to make a speech Mr Black," Spencer-Harding interrupted, his expression almost as traumatised as Lily's.

But Sirius wasn't finished. "As I was saying. It was a beautiful day in mid-May and I was stalking Lily as she took a swim in the lake. It was then that she had left her dry clothes unguarded on the shore. I quickly stole her knickers and stashed them in my dormitory where they have remained unwashed ever since. Every night before I go to bed I take them out and stroke them as I also stroke my-"

"Enough!"

Professor Spencer-Harding had jumped to his feet and had placed two hands on Sirius' shoulders pushing him back down into his seat rather forcefully. Sirius seemed rather pleased with the reaction he had got. He was leaning back in his chair beaming at a glowering Lily.

"I think that's enough for today," Spencer-Harding said, mopping his slightly sweaty forehead with the back of his hand. "Next class we will start on the advantages of nonverbal magic in defensive situations."

The class began to pack up, most of them looking relieved that the class was finally over. Although James was pleased to see that at least a few of his fellow classmates were talking about his and Sirius' little joke. Even though Sirius's suggestion of swapping had rather spectacularly backfired it on him, at least people had been appreciative. Well some people had been. Lily had shot both him and Sirius a dirty look and stalked out of the room with Alice Hall and Mary McDonald.

James watched as Snape followed after her, his greased up face also bearing a somewhat menacing expression. That was another bone he had to pick with Sirius. His dramatic speech had deprived them all of hearing from what Snivellus had to tell them about himself. Now, that would have been entertaining.

They were almost at the door when he heard a voice behind him.

"Potter," Professor Spencer-Harding looked at Sirius. "And Black," he continued, looking at James.

They both turned to face him, trying their best to suppress grins. It looked like his second detention of term was coming. James was almost pleased; it would be the first detention of the year he'd have with Sirius and they were always entertaining.

"Yes sir," they said as solemnly, their expressions blank. He must have known they were mocking him for his expression hardened.

"A word with you both if I may."

James wasn't sure if this was a question, but he sorely resisted the urge to reply no. He met Remus' eye who were hanging back with Peter in the doorway. They'd know better than to wait for them. This teacher was unchartered ground and new teachers tended to drag things out. McGonagall was an expert in cutting to the chase when it came to giving out detention, but it was more likely with Professor Spencer-Harding they would be in for a long arduous lecture. But not to worry, he'd soon give up on them both like the rest of the teachers.

James and Sirius sat back down and looked up at Professor Spencer-Harding expectantly. They'd heard the spiel enough times for them to both know exactly what he would say. So far he was saying the usual. Bad example, inappropriate language, insensitivity to fellow classmates, disruptive influence etc. etc. etc. He continued in this fashion for at least five minutes which was incredibly tedious. Especially as he hadn't even said anything they hadn't heard before. McGonagall was at least creative with her words when she got really pissed at them. James and Sirius had both been called some rather colourful things in their time.

He came to a halt, somewhat out of breath and red in the face. He needed to get better at this if he was going to make it at Hogwarts. This was a tame misdemeanour by their standards.

He'd picked up a piece of paper from inside his folder and was now reading it intently. A fine crease appeared between his eyes as he scanned the page. James had no idea what he was reading but he seemed to be studying it rather intently.

"I'll just get my diary and then I'll book you both in for detention."

James grinned. God this guy was an amateur. He'd never had a teacher have to check their diary to hand out detention. Spencer-Harding left the room, disappearing into a side room which James presumed was his office. When the door was firmly shut behind him he turned to Sirius.

"You thinking what I'm thinking?"

James nodded. They had both seen him leave the piece of paper he'd been reading on the desk. He had tucked it back into his folder but it wouldn't take long to locate. He stood up and with a quick glance at the door he darted over to the desk. He picked up the folder and gave it a good shake causing the loose piece of parchment to flutter silently onto the desk.

"Gemino."

The paper instantly duplicated and James folded it up and stuffed it inside his robes. He had just made it back to his desk when the door opened again. Professor Spencer-Harding was back and was clutching a rather formal looking moleskin diary and a large feathered quill.

"I'll see you 7pm on Friday," he said scribbling in his moleskin diary. Sirius and James shrugged and stood up to leave. James hadn't had a chance to examine the piece of paper he'd copied. But whatever it was it seemed to have been a factor in giving them detention and he was curious to find out why.

They headed out of the classroom, leaving Professor Spencer-Harding with his moleskin diary and ridiculous bowler hat. As soon as they were out of earshot they turned to each other.

"Shall we look now or wait for Gryffindor Tower?" James asked. It was an unspoken rule that any finds like this should be viewed as a team. However it was a long walk to the Tower and he was intrigued.

"Nah, let's look now," Sirius replied, making a grab for James' bag. His hand had just made contact with the fabric when Filch appeared in front of them. He didn't look happy.

"You two, I know you've been setting off dungbombs outside the Hospital Wing."

James rolled his eyes. Filch accusing them of crimes they hadn't committed was almost as common as him accusing them of things they had.

Sirius stepped forward. "You've just watched us walk out of Defence class, if you think we could have made it to the Hospital Wing and back in five minutes to set off a dungbomb then I'd be readily admitting we did it."

This seemed to confuse Filch for he paused and his grip visibly tightening around his broom handle.

"Prove it," he hissed, his yellow eyes bulging in their sockets.

Sirius shrugged, shoving his hands into his pockets. "Whatever, ask McGonagall if you want to see our schedules."

This seemed to placate him for he turned around and shuffled back down the corridor, muttering slightly to himself as he went.

"Nicely deflected Padfoot," James said clapping Sirius on the back. "But we'd better get up to the Tower. Not worth sticking around with Filch prowling around."

Sirius nodded and they made their way up to the tower taking their care to avoid Filch. The last thing they wanted was for him to stop and search them. That had been the reason they'd had to enchant the map to remain blank until activated. Otherwise Filch would have had it off them in a heartbeat. Despite this, Filch had still grown suspicious. He had seen them enough times with the map to know that it wasn't just an ordinary piece of parchment and he wouldn't hesitate confiscating it.

They found Remus and Peter in the common room, relaxing in front of the fire.

"Detention?" Remus asked, stretching out his hands towards the crackling flames. "That was an amusing joke you played on him."

James nodded happily as he sat down next to Peter, his hand already clasped around the piece of parchment currently residing in his robes pocket. "Totally worth it, although I will be murdering Padfoot tonight."

Sirius just grinned. "You asked for it mate."

Perhaps this was true. James had started the joke by announcing to the class that Sirius wanted to fuck Professor Sinistra, but that had hardly been a secret. Not that him fancying Lily wasn't well known either, but it was a helluva lot more personal. But whatever, he'd find a way to get Sirius back in time.

"Anyway," James changed the subject, spreading out the piece of parchment on the table in front of them. "Let's have a look at this."

"What's that?" Remus said, his fingers tracing the first line of the piece of parchment. "It looks like a list of all of our names."

James scanned the page. Remus was right; it was a list of all of their names, but that wasn't all it was. Next to each name were scrawled comments about the individual. He scanned down the list, Sirius was up first.

 _"Sirius Black,_ " James read aloud as the others crowded round. _"Incredibly bright but a known trouble maker with no regard for rules or common decency. Difficult childhood has led to anarchistic tendencies and a reckless attitude._ "

Sirius snorted next to him. "That sounds about right."

Remus stared at them, his eyes moving rapidly down the page. "Where on earth did you get this?"

"Gemino'd a copy of his desk when he went to fetch his diary."

"What does it say about me?" Remus wondered seemingly aloud as they all read further down the page.

 _"Remus Lupin,"_ he read. _"Bright and applies himself diligently to tasks set. However moves in a bad crowd and on occasion can succumb to their poor influences."_

James laughed, this was certainly true. Remus would have been an absolutely perfect student if he hadn't made friends with them all these years ago. He was proud to say that he and Sirius were a bad influence on him. However Remus was also laughing, seemingly amused at the observation that he moved in a 'bad crowd'. He wondered where Spencer-Harding had got this information from. This sounded like it had come straight out of McGonagall's mouth.

Looking now at the bottom of the page he found his own name.

" _Similarly to Black, Potter is very clever, however does not apply himself. Can demonstrate an over inflated sense of his own importance and likes to be the centre of attention."_

"Sure I do!" James said as the others chuckled. "That's the only reason I bother to turn up."

"What does it say about me?" Peter said as he craned his neck trying to read the small scrawled handwriting next to his name.

James pushed his glasses further up the bridge of his nose and squinted at the piece of parchment. However this time he didn't read aloud. Peter _Pettigrew- Hero-worships Black and Potter. Not at all in their league in terms of talent or ability. Needs encouragement and time to grasp concepts._

James shot a worried look at Sirius. He hadn't even considered what it would have said about Peter. He looked round, hoping that Peter hadn't been able to read what was on the page. But it seemed that he had. He had sunk back down into his seat, a sad and disappointed look on his face. Remus had also let out a sigh; this hadn't been the way that any of them had intended this bit of fun to end.

"Anyone fancy a game of exploding snap?" James said, trying to pretend that he hadn't read Peter's entry.

Remus nodded, and drew out a pack of playing cards from his pocket. They all sat in silence as he dealt them out. James scrunched the piece of parchment and tossed it into his bag. He had no desire to read what the rest of it said now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N I hope you liked- put a smile on my face and click the review button below even if just to say a few words! I'm also afraid the story updates may be a little slower as I'm having to do more substantial editing to what I have already written, and I start a new job next week! So less time daydreaming about what I'm going to write in my next chapter...


	9. Lunar Eclipse

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the age is has taken me to post this! I have been going through a rather painful breakup with my long term boyfriend and I just wasn't in the mood to write. But I am back now and weekly updates should be recommencing!

“Hurry up Wormtail,” Sirius’ voice called from halfway down the corridor.

Peter was trying his best to keep up but he had neither the stamina nor the fitness of the other three. Or as last night had reminded him, the talent. But he was running as fast as he could, desperately trying to keep pace. He’d never been fit and likely never would be. In fact his legs could only really be described as short and stumpy, especially when compared to James and Sirius, both of whom had shot up yet again over the summer. Looking down at his stocky body Peter felt more than a little bit envious. James and Remus were both fairly tall, and Sirius was already pushing 6ft. Peter would be lucky to make it past five foot and a half. Pushing these thoughts to the back of his mind he plodded on, following Remus’ sandy blonde hair as he ducked under a tapestry of a 16th century warlock. Peter couldn’t remember the warlock’s name but he was sure he was famous for having domesticated a centaur. Or something like that.

“We’ll miss the eclipse!” Sirius shouted back at no-one in particular. Even from this far behind Peter could see Remus’ disparaging shake of his head. He knew Remus disapproved. Not of the fact that they were going to Astronomy Club, more of the reasons why they were going. He knew Remus’ theory; that Sirius had only become interested because Professor Sinistra was rather attractive, and he knew Sirius well enough to know that it was probably true. Sirius had barely even bothered to turn up to mandatory let alone voluntary classes when it had been Professor Clanger teaching the subject.

Turning round a corner he saw that his three friends were waiting for him at the foot of the Astronomy Tower. Panting, he jogged up to them, now close enough to hear what they were saying. 

“Are you sure you wouldn’t have rather gone on an illicit trip to Honeydukes?” James was saying, looking at Sirius with a rather curious look on his face.

“We can go to Honeydukes anytime,” Sirius replied smoothly. “And we might not see another eclipse in our lifetimes!”

“You do know this is only a partial eclipse, which are actually fairly common?” Remus replied, looking entirely bored with the topic. 

“Still, it could be the only eclipse which we see at school,” Sirius replied, obviously not really listening.

“There have been nine eclipses since we arrived at school Padfoot, and there is a total eclipse next October. You would know this if you had occasionally bothered to look at your lunar chart.”

“Well sorry if I’m not as well attuned to the movements of the moon as you are Moony,” Sirius said carelessly, not noticing the look on Remus’ face.

“So what is Professor Sinistra like then?” Peter quickly added, changing the subject.

“Oh she’s alright,” Sirius said smirking.

“Is she as pretty up close?” Peter asked.

“Depends how pretty you think she is from a distance,” Sirius said dismissively, as they finally reached the top of the spiral staircase. There was a group of students waiting by the door, so they couldn’t have missed it after all. Peter was grateful for that, Sirius would have made jibes for days if his pudginess had made them late for the eclipse.

Taking a closer look at the crowd that was gathered there it occurred to Peter that it was a rather peculiar mix of people. There were the usual bookworms and odd prefect that you’d expect but there was also a disproportionate number of young men. Peter noticed Blake Porpington in the corner conversing with Robin Saunders, one of the 7th year chasers for Hufflepuff. He couldn’t hear what they were saying over the crowd but judging from the rude hand gestures Porpington was making Peter thought he could have made an educated guess. Evidently Sirius wasn’t the only male who thought Professor Sinistra worth scaling the Astronomy Tower at 7pm on a Saturday evening.

After a few minutes the door opened and the students began to file in through the large oak doorway. It had been a while since any of them, aside from Sirius, had been up here and they habitually moved to take the spots in the corner, where they had generally escaped the peripheral vision of Professor Clanger. However Sirius wasn’t having this. Grabbing James by the arm he jostled his way to the front, almost toppling some poor bespectacled third year who bore more than a passing resemblance to Moaning Myrtle in the process. She promptly dropped the telescope she had been holding and turned to stare at James, seemingly awe-struck. Peter exhaled sadly; girls never looked at him like that and never would. Looks such as that were reserved for those who excelled on a broomstick. Not fat un-attractive lumps like Peter. 

“Evening Potter,” a voice said from next to James. His tone sounded unpleasant and Peter wondered if he had been the victim of some prank that he’d long forgotten. After all, aside from the few really memorable ones, most of which involved Snivellus, they did start to blur together somewhat.  
James swivelled round, and he obviously recognised the boy who had spoken for his expression hardened ever so slightly, not that anyone external to the Marauders would have noticed.

“Evening Aubrey,” James replied casually, although not before casting a sideways glance at Sirius who grinned rather unsubtly back. It then struck Peter who the boy was: he was Bertram Aubrey, a boy who had picked a fight with James last Christmas. Last time he’d seen him his head had been about three times its intended size; he hadn’t recognised him with a normal sized one.

“What was it they hexed him for again?” Peter nudged Remus next to him.

“Prongs made out with his girlfriend at Slughorn’s Christmas party. How can you not remember that?” Remus muttered back, his disapproval audible.

“Who was she again? Was that Lorraine Edgecombe?”

“No, that was the year before. Her name was Cleo, Cleo Fox. 5th year Ravenclaw now.”

Peter had a vague recollection of her, but didn’t think he had spoken more than a few words to the girl.

“So, what are you lot here for? I thought you normally had detentions on weekends.” It was Aubrey that had spoken and he was making no attempt to hide his obvious distaste for them. Peter thought fleetingly how unfair this was, he and Remus had never been nothing but pleasant to Bertram Aubrey. But that was the price you paid to be best friends with James and Sirius, and it was certainly worth it. Peter wouldn’t change his friends for the world. They were by far the most popular boys in the year, and Peter took immense pride and satisfaction in the association. 

“I’ve been here the past two weeks,” said Sirius indignantly. 

“Oh have you? Hadn’t noticed you without your boyfriends I’m afraid.”

Sirius just smiled at him, it was a poor insult at best and one they’d all heard many times before.

“Well,” Sirius said loudly, still smirking. “You know they are very loyal to me, and loyalty is a quality I very much seek out in all my lovers.”

A few people around them sniggered at this rather thinly veiled dig. It seemed Peter was in a minority and that most other people had indeed remembered that James Potter had snogged Bertram Aubrey’s girlfriend at Slughorn’s Christmas party last year. Thankfully, Professor Sinistra finally decided to start the session and Bertram Aubrey didn’t get a chance to retaliate. It was probably for the best as he was glaring at Sirius and James as if looks could kill.

“Welcome back to Astronomy Club,” she said in a low, almost sultry tone, with a hint of some foreign accent Peter couldn’t quite put his finger on. Peter thought she was just as attractive up close as she had been at the feast. She had skin the colour of copper and a long dark braid that fell to the small of her back. Her robes were blood orange and appeared to be made of pure silk. They didn’t look at all suited to the Scottish autumnal weather but she didn’t seem to mind. Overall Peter thought her quite exotic looking.

“It’s nice to see some new faces here today,” she added her dark eyes resting on James, Remus and Peter for a few moments before shooting a curious glance at Sirius who just raised an eyebrow.  
The class nodded in agreement, and Peter noticed that several of the boys were sitting on the edge of their seats hanging on to her every word. Turning round to look at Sirius, he saw he was lounging on his chair, with no hint whatsoever that he found the woman standing in front of him attractive. That was Sirius’ way though- he barely ever let on when he fancied someone. Maybe that was the secret Peter thought. Maybe he was too forward, too obvious with girls. But then again maybe it was just the fact he was less attractive, less clever and less popular than all three of his best friends. Sometimes when he was feeling particularly low he wondered why they had even allowed him to be part of their group.

“Now, the eclipse is due to start in approximately 6 minutes. I would like you to chart the passage of the moon, bearing particular attention to the degree of the eclipse and also the speed and trajectory of the   
moon. However please make sure you pick up a pair of glasses from the front before you start, as you should never stare directly at the sun.”

“Rather the sun than the moon,” Remus muttered darkly. He’d never cared for Astronomy for obvious reasons.

“Surely it’s good for you because the sun is going to eclipse the moon?” Peter piped up, hoping to cheer Remus up a bit. He had a feeling he was still a little disgruntled from Sirius’ rather flippant comment earlier. Sirius meant well, at least most of the time, but could be rather tactless sometimes, especially with Remus.

“You idiot,” James said with apparent disbelief. “The sun is behind the fucking moon Peter. The sun is like a billion miles away. If it was between us and the moon we would be watching the apocalypse not this bore of an eclipse.”

“Shut up Prongs,” Sirius butted in “Don’t lie. This is the most fun you’ve had since Lily told you off at you at the feast for reading Playboy.”

James gave Sirius a not so playful shove and got up to retrieve four pairs of UV glasses from the front. The eclipse itself passed without much excitement. Peter had not seen an eclipse before but he had been expecting something a bit more dramatic. But he supposed that wasn’t really why they were here. Turning round to look at Sirius he was reminded of the real reason they were here. Sirius’ grey eyes were following Professor Sinistra as she moved amongst the students in the observatory. She had paused to look at Robin Saunders’ chart, making a few amendments with a quill that was decorated with the feather of some brightly coloured exotic bird. Maybe he would ask for a nice quill for Christmas. He was forever losing them and maybe a bright rainbow coloured one would be harder to lose. Or lend to James and never get back.  
Professor Sinistra was now looking over Remus’ shoulder at his charting of the eclipse. She seemed impressed with his work, and turned to look at Peter’s. The angles looked slightly different from Remus’ and his calculations had also come out with different numbers. Peter sighed, he knew there was a reason he had dropped this subject after O.W.L. Remus on the other hand had been the best of the lot of them, however had also dropped the subject as soon as possible not being all that fond of the night’s sky.

Sinistra was now leaning over looking at Sirius’ work, her long dark braid slung over her shoulder as she examined his chart. Sirius was leaning back on his chair, with a small smile on his face, obviously enjoying the rather close presence of Sinistra. Flashing a smirk at James he shifted his weight forward and brought his chair back onto all four legs with a clang. Sinistra just smiled and raised an eyebrow before moving on to the third year reincarnation of Moaning Myrtle. 

It seemed that the rather unfortunate bespectacled girl was the last to receive feedback, for Professor Sinistra then stood up to wrap up the session.

“Some lovely work today, I hope you enjoyed the session as much as I did. It’s nice to see the sun occasionally,” she laughed, her dark eyes lighting up. “Well I will see you all next week at midnight, where we will be doing some lovely observations on the passage of Jupiter’s moons. Those looking to prepare for the session I would advise that you do some research on all of Jupiter’s moons, especially on how to identify them.”

And with that the class began to file out. Trying their best to avoid Bertram Aubrey who was hanging back to speak to one of the other Ravenclaw boys he’d arrived with, they shuffled out of the room.

“Where’s Padfoot?” asked James suddenly, realising his partner in crime was notably absent.

“He hung back to speak with Sinistra,” Remus replied, sounding more than a little bit disinterested.

“Should we leave him to it?” James asked, shooting a glance at the now closed door.

“Probably best,” shrugged Remus carelessly. “We don’t know how long he is going to be given how dedicated he is to the study of Astronomy. Besides, I could kill for some food right now. Kitchens anyone?”  
And with that the three of them nodded in agreement and trooped back down the stairs, leaving Sirius behind. Peter wondered what they were talking about, surely Sirius couldn’t feign that much of an interest in the subject. Although Sirius was good at talking to women, he was a natural charmer when he wanted to be and he knew it. Peter wouldn’t have had a clue what to say, but then again he never did. Talking to women was not something he was very good at, but one day he was sure he would find a girl who didn’t mind that he was short, a little bit rotund and not a straight O student. After all, he was part of the Marauders, and that surely had to count for something.

And with those happy thoughts Peter fell in step next to Remus and James, safe in the knowledge that whatever happened he would always have the very best of friends.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you liked the start of this story- any feedback or comments would be greatly appreciated! I have already drafted a large portion of this story so please check back soon for the next chapter :)


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